Microsoft said to be dropping the Nokia brand

Nokia devices set to switch to Microsoft Lumia, according to reports

Microsoft is reported to be close to dropping the Nokia brand from its Windows Phone device, which are likely to be rebranded simply as Microsoft Lumia smartphones.

The move has yet to be offically confirmed by the software giant, but but Nokia France made an announcement on its Facebook page overnight advising users to expect a change in brand name soon.

"In the coming days, you will receive a Facebook message regarding the change of name of this page. We are on the verge of becoming Microsoft Lumia. Stay tuned for more soon," the post said.

However, this rebrand has been predicted by industry observers ever since Microsoft closed its acquisition of Nokia's business device unit earlier this year.

Microsoft had not responded to requests from V3 for confirmation at the time of writing.

However, the firm has informed US-based news site The Verge that the name change is due to begin soon. It will start first in France and then be rolled out globally afterwards, according to the report.

With the dropping of the Nokia name Microsoft will be keen to push the new Microsoft Lumia brand forward. However, Microsoft announced new handsets just last month with Nokia branding.

Microsoft paid €5.44bn for the Nokia mobile phone business when the deal was announced late last year. The Lumia brand had an estimated 4.1 percent share of the overall smartphone market, making Nokia the largest maker of Windows Phone devices. Nokia expected the move to Microsoft to be a positive one.