Idea: Nokia should dump its name from the Ovi brand

As the mobile phone market gets more competitive, margins are shrinking and smart handset makers are focusing on value added services. I always thought of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) as a smart company and their entrance to the world of Internet services was fascinating move, when you think about it. Within just a few years today’s high-end smartphones will become a commodity, and software and services will be the “thing” that will make all the difference, as well as something Chinese companies can’t copy that easy. That said, and again to praise Nokia – Ovi seems like a right way to go!

However, what I think Nokia should do is dump their name from the Ovi website/branding. The idea is to partner with other handset makers and extend Ovi’s reach to other, non-Nokia made handsets. When you think about it, the Finnish giant’s main competitor in the future will be Google (NSDQ: GOOG), which is platform agnostic and their mobile products and services are available for virtually all platforms — we may also include Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to the mix, but they are way smaller players. I think Nokia should go the same route and in order to do so, dumping its logo from the “Ovi equation” is the right way to go. I don’t think it’s impossible to imagine Ovi becoming Nokia’s primary source of revenue within 5-10 years. In that sense, it deserves a special place, the one that will go beyond Nokia’s brand.

Any thoughts?