Microsoft puts Nokia X platform and Asha series to rest , company to lay off 18000 employees as well

Nokia/Microsoft has decided to send the Nokia X and its entire family of AOSP (Android) as well as the S40 based Asha feature phones to the axe .This move comes right next to the biggest layoff of Microsoft's employee force with 18,000 employees scheduled to be sent home .

First off , we have the over hyped Nokia X line of Android devices . The Nokia X platform ,developed by Microsoft/Nokia was built on top of AOSP(Android open source platform) and this meant that Google services such as the App store , maps , mail and apps like Youtube were replaced by ones made by Microsoft (which didn't work well).

The Nokia X lineup was largely ill equipped and underpowered to the meet the demands of the power hungry smartphone consumers , who expected a lot from a Nokia running Android , and this armed with the lack of a dedicated home and menu button ,camera flash , front camera and a imitation -windows phone feel gave people a reason to turn away from the device , Microsoft quickly fixed the problem by announcing the Nokia X2 - which brought in a new processor , more ram , rear flash , front camera and a much needed home button , The phone also brought in Nokia X platform 2.0 ,which wasn't compatible with the older Nokia X devices , so technically the original Nokia X series was sitting ducks without any updates .But now , the Redmond giant has decided to pull the plug off the entire Nokia X project which means that Nokia will no longer work on Android powered phones . The Nokia X ,Nokia X+ and the XL have been scrubbed off and this will surely include the recently announced Nokia X2 as well . The company however has decided to keep the existing Nokia X devices afloat by converting them to Windows Phone devices with a major software update , all resources used on the Nokia X project will be diverted to a seperate project that aims to make a affordable Lumia device with Windows phone , rather than Android .

Quote -

"We plan to shift select Nokia X product designs to become Lumia products running Windows. This builds on our success in the affordable smartphone space and aligns with our focus on Windows Universal Apps," - Satya Nadella.

"In addition to the portfolio already planned, we plan to deliver additional lower-cost Lumia devices by shifting select future Nokia X designs and products to Windows Phone devices. We expect to make this shift immediately while continuing to sell and support existing Nokia X products "- Stephen Elop

With the Nokia X platform discarded ,Microsoft can finally pay attention to create a sub $100 Lumia device based on the now dead Nokia X platform . The move to scrub the Nokia X platform comes at a time when 18,000 Microsoft employees are sent a email notifying them of the biggest employee layoff in Microsoft's history . 12500 of these employees are from Nokia's Devices and Services division , whom they absorbed into the Microsoft umbrella when Microsoft acquired the company .

Nokia Asha platform has been scheduled to meet its maker as well , the Asha series was aimed at developing markets and is responsible for Nokia's success over the last few years , over a billion Series 40 phones have been sold and the Asha lineup also contributed heavily to it . Development of the S40 (Asha's operating software) will end in the next 18 months and Nokia has no plans to introduce any new Asha phones in the future .

Microsoft also plans in shutting down its Xbox entertainment studios

Microsoft also hopes to sell Nokia's MixRadio to a 3rd party , Nokia MixRadio is a online music streaming service

Written by Rakitha for MasHD

Article may be used in other blogs,but please be sure to link this article as a source

Sources - GSMArena ,TheVerge

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