We already knew, thanks to leaked internal documents, that Microsoft was ditching the Windows Phone branding for a simple “Windows” on devices that run its mobile operating system. Now, we have our first look at an actual phone that uses the branding. British brand My Go has displayed the Windows branding on an unlinked micrsosite on the company’s official website. The page, marked with a “CONFIDENTIAL – Internal Use Only” banner on top shows off the 4.7-inch GoFone GF47W. While the technical specifications of the handset reference Windows Phone 8.1, a number of high-resolution images on the back of the device show the standard Windows logo, not the Windows Phone logo.
Leaked documents revealed earlier this week that Microsoft is planning to kill off the Windows Phone brand this holiday season in favour of just Windows. Now a new handset from My Go appears to be one of the first to use the Windows logo instead of Windows Phone. Images available on My Go’s own website show a variety of Windows logos, and the Windows logo placement on the rear of the upcoming GoFone GF47W device. My Go’s plans to brand its devices as Windows follows a similar move by HTC with its One M8 for Windows instead of Windows Phone for the device name, but HTC still opted to include a Windows Phone logo at the rear of the handset. The shift to just the Windows name appears to be a move by Microsoft in preparation for a combined version of Windows RT and Windows Phone due next year. As the future operating system will run across phones and small tablets, it wouldn’t make sense keeping the Windows Phone brand for devices that are clearly not phones. Microsoft is also dropping the Nokia brand from its future Lumia handsets, and the company is phasing out its Nokia marketing this holiday season in favor of Windows and Lumia.
