The ATIV S, announced by Samsung at IFA, was the first Windows Phone 8 device to be officially announced, and was part of Samsung's ATIV range which includes a number of laptops and tablet devices as well as the smartphone. Now Samsung have gone into more details on their blog about the thinking behind the ATIV branding.

It's actually a pretty quick vision to explain:

Samsung introduced “ATIV”, the new brand for its Windows-based devices. ATIV, the reverse of the word VITA, meaning “Life” in Latin, is a pledge by Samsung to make everyone’s life extraordinary with excitement.

Unfortunately the obvious name to go with - Vita - had already been claimed by Sony for their next generation PlayStation Portable games console, which I suspect is the reason for the reversal of the name.

Of interest to Windows Phone followers is that the ATIV brand is not just for the new smartphone. Samsung's previous handsets, which ran Windows Phone 7, carried a standalone brand name (Focus). The Android line-up, of course, goes under the Galaxy moniker. There's no standalone name for the new smartphones this time around.

The unifying nature of the ATIV brand reflects the decision that Microsoft has made with Windows 8 to reach over multiple devices - the laptop, desktop, notebooks, tablets, and smartphones. Samsung will be hoping that people who pick up one Windows-powered device with the ATIV brand will consider staying within the ATIV brand if they need another device. It also means that they can get a much better return on their marketing budget by pushing the brand name alongside the individual devices.

The connected nature of Windows 8 is one of the strengths it can leverage, and it's good to see Samsung embrace this.

(Hat tip to Windows Phone Daily).