Microsoft Drops Nokia Name, Sticks With ‘Lumia’ For Windows Phones

After a long and complicated relationship that first involved just a close partnership with Nokia handling hardware duties, and then Microsoft acquiring Nokia’s phone-making business during what appeared to be a fairly acrimonious separation, there will be no more confusion as to who’s making first-party Windows Phone hardware going forward: they’ll be called just “Microsoft Lumia” devices going forward.

The rebranding will begin in France, according to The Verge, and then move around the world from there, and will apply across product branding, social media accounts and all online presence. Nokia, the company, will continue to operate separately as a mapping and network tech concern, and tech newsrooms everywhere will breathe a sigh of relief as they can stop asking “wait, which Nokia are you talking about?” when discussing stories.

We knew it was coming; MS naming its hardware division the same thing as the company that it secured it from was untenable, for any number of reasons, and Microsoft has previously admitted it would be transitioning away from the Nokia moniker. Using the Lumia name makes a lot of sense as a replacement, because it was unique to Windows Phone devices from the beginning, but has also been around long enough now to have some brand recognition, even if it’s only a fraction of the legacy brand presence enjoyed by Nokia.

Expect a big branding push once this transition begins in earnest, as Microsoft tries to append the new (old) name to its mobile platform in people’s minds and supplant the Nokia memories.

 

AT&T Breaks The Apple SIM’s Best Feature, Locks It Down If You Pick AT&T

The idea behind the Apple SIM that comes in the new iPads is most excellent: one SIM, many carriers. Whenever you want to switch carriers, you’d just pop into settings and pick the new one. If you want to bring your own SIM, you can — but otherwise, everything happens through software. No swapping SIMs, no ordering new SIMs, no hassle.

Alas, someone had to go and throw a wrench in the gears. AT&T (who else?) is mucking up the whole thing.

For now, the Apple SIM is compatible with four carriers: T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T in the US, and EE in the UK. (Note the lack of VZW support in the states; seems they’re not very into this idea just yet.)

With three of those four compatible carriers, you’re free to stretch your legs, hop between the offerings, and find the carrier that fits your needs.

Pick AT&T, however, and you get a nasty little prompt: “Once activation is complete,” it reads, “this Apple SIM can only be used with AT&T. You will need a new Apple SIM if you change carriers in the future.”

As MacRumors notes, an Apple support page notes this ugly little tidbit:

Using Apple SIM, you can choose from different cellular carriers and their various programs. The data plans vary by carrier. For instance, in the United States, you can choose a domestic plan from either Sprint or T-Mobile and also pick an alternate plan from the other carrier as needed. When you choose AT&T on iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, AT&T dedicates Apple SIM to their network only.

I’ve received confirmation from AT&T that they’re doing this, though I’ve requested further clarification as to why they’re doing it. No response there yet.

Now, this only really applies if you’re buying a new iPad with an Apple SIM installed out of the box — which, confusingly, isn’t all new iPads. It depends on where you purchase the device. Buy it through Apple, it’ll have an Apple SIM. Buy it through an independent reseller, Apple SIM. Buy it directly through Sprint, for example, and it’ll come with a Sprint-only SIM.

But when you get an Apple SIM, you expect it to work a certain way — and for it to continueworking that way. AT&T — or anyone else, moving forward — doing this to an Apple SIM post-purchase is really just screwing up the whole idea. If this is its way of resisting the wave of change heading in its direction, then it’s just going to look like a jerk in the long run.

As you might expect if you’re familiar with the guy, T-Mobile John Legere (who also posted the image above) seized the chance to declare a victory:

Google Rolls Out An Invite System For Its New Email App, Inbox By Gmail

Good news, you don’t have to scour eBay for an invite to Google’s new email application, Inbox. You just have to know someone who got in. Today, Google announced by way of its “Inbox by Gmail” Twitter account that each Inbox user will now receive three invites they can hand out to friends. Hilariously, the invite button emoji is a golden ticket.

If you aren’t seeing this option yet in your Inbox app, you soon will.

To locate the invite button, just tap the red “Compose” plus icon at the bottom right of the screen. The “Invite to Inbox” button will be the first option above the red Compose button after doing so.

The funny thing about Inbox requiring an invite in order to get in is that it’s such a manufactured attempt at creating a sense of exclusivity around Google’s new product. By limiting access, Google is mimicking the path its buzzy email competitor Mailbox once took. Mailbox, now owned by Dropbox, famously established a “queue” users had to join before they were able to try the product everyone was talking about.

At the time, the startup claimed this would help it manage its growth without succumbing to a massive influx of users who joined all at once. But many also saw it as a marketing ploy designed to increase demand, or even an experiment in human behavior.

And of course, the original Gmail product launch also had an invite system of its own when it first arrived years ago. Gmail invites were a hot item then, too, as everyone clamored for a way into this revolutionary email system that was offering a preposterous 1 GB of free storage and instructed users to archive, not delete, their emails.

But Google isn’t some scrappy upstart anymore. It has access some of the most powerful, scalable technology that exists. As one TechCrunch colleague pointed out, “If anyone could scale any garbage to run for the entire planet without really trying, it’s Google.”

In other words, Google doesn’t need to foist an invite system on would-be Inbox app users. Instead, it’s trying to re-create a sense of buzz around this new app, purportedly a reinvention of email, in hopes of being able to increase demand and grow a user base virally.

Despite the sort-of fakeness to this methodology, I hate to say it, but it’s working. There’s a bit of FOMO going on. Those without Inbox invites are hitting up their contacts at Google, and bugging their friends. Or yes, selling invites on eBay.

Guys, chill. It’s really just a prettier Gmail with some new organizational features, and a new workflow. It’s not even ideal for advanced users who get a lot of email, or who already use Gmail filters and rules. It’s a bit of an adjustment, and you might even decide it’s not for you in the long run.

But time will tell if Inbox is the second coming of Gmail, I suppose.

P.S. Sorry, my three are gone. Move along.