Nokia has announced that it will be rebranding Ovi services, the likes of Ovi Store and Ovi Maps, as Nokia services.

 

This rebranding will kick off with services on some of the new Nokia devices in July as well as August. This transition is expected to continue into 2012, with Nokia not expecting any disruption of the development of these services due to the name change.

 

“We have made the decision to change our service branding from Ovi to Nokia,” Nokia’s EVP and chief marketing officer, Jerri DeVard explained. “By centralizing our services identity under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia and unify our brand architecture – while continuing to deliver compelling opportunities and experiences for partners and consumers alike.”

 

Nokia expects the process to be completed across all countries and all services by the end of 2012. Anyone using a new Nokia device bought around that time will see the new branding on services included with the mobile phone. Users who purchased their Nokia phone earlier will see the rebranding only after forthcoming software updates.

 

“The reasons for this decision includes the fact that Nokia is a well-known and highly-loved brand the world over,” DeVard continued. “Our mobile experiences are tightly integrated with our devices – there is no longer a differentiation. For example, if consumers want the best mobile navigation experience, they know it’s a Nokia that they can rely on.”

 

“These last few years, and moving forward, our mission remains unchanged: we will continue our work to deliver compelling, unified mobile service offerings and next-generation, disruptive technologies,” he concluded.

 

Last month the E7 and N8 maker also signed a definitive agreement with Microsoft, which will see the company adopting Windows Phone 7 OS as its primary smartphone OS.