Not content with being the maker of Google's Nexus 9 tablet, HTC has plans to launch own-brand tablets on 2015, Focus Taiwan reports-- but it will not make any low-end devices, not when profit margins are so thin.

"It's not a profitable market," HTC N. Asia president Jack Tong tells Focus Taiwan. "There is actually a bit more room for growth and product differentiation in the high-end and mid-tier tablet segments."

Tong adds the 7-inch tablet market is also under threat, as market share is being devoured by phablets and oversized (5.5-inch+) smartphones such as the iPhone 6 Plus and the Nexus 6.

Microsoft confirms it is dropping the Nokia name from Lumia smartphones as it starts transitioning its branding from "Nokia Lumia" to "Microsoft Lumia" on apps, websites, social media and marketing materials.

The move should come to no surprise, as Nokia Windows Phone apps have already been rebranded to Lumia.

"Lumia is now part of a compelling family of Microsoft products like Xbox, Windows and Surface along with a range of services such as Skype, Office and Bing," Microsoft SVP of market for phones Tuula Rytilä says. Rytilä also reveals an unspecified Microsoft Lumia device will be announced "soon."

For the curious, the branding on future Lumia products features the Microsoft name and a plain black version of the company's four-squared logo.

Microsoft starts dropping the Nokia branding from Lumia smartphones-- Nokia France is the first country to adopt the "Microsoft Lumia" monicker, as announced on the company's Facebook page.

The Facebook post says Nokia France will change its name to Microsoft Lumia "in the coming days."

Microsoft confirms to The Verge other countries will soon follow the rebranding, which involves the renaming of social media accounts as well as websites and, eventually, products. This should come to no surprise, as Nokia Windows Phone apps have already been rebranded to Lumia.

Holiday season ads for the Microsoft smartphones should also push the Microsoft Lumia name.

According to Forbes Microsoft will launch a wearable device in a few weeks' time-- specifically a cross-platform smartwatch with passive heart tracking and a battery life of over 2 days of regular use.

Confirming the Forbes report is news site The Verge.

Rumours of Microsoft working on a smartwatch date as far back as April 2013, when the Wall Street Journal reported on the company working on "designs for a touch-enabled watch device." More recently a Forbes story from May 2014 tells of a Microsoft wearable featuring "optical engineering expertise from Microsoft's Xbox Kinect division" and a long-lasting battery life.

If the Forbes story is true it means Microsoft might emerge as a dark horse in the race for smartwatch dominance-- after all, battery life is one main complaint faced by the current crop of smartwatches, as the Samsung Gear, Moto 360 and even the Apple Watch demand daily charging.