How 10 Iconic Tech Products Got Their Names 247
lgmac writes "Think Windows Azure is a stupid name? Ever wonder how iPod, BlackBerry and Twitter got their names? Author Tom Wailgum goes inside the process of creating tech product names that are cool but not exclusionary, marketable, and most of all, free of copyright and trademark gotchas. Here's the scoop on ten iconic tech products and how they got their monikers, plus a chat with
the man responsible for naming Azure, BlackBerry, and more. (What's the one he wishes he'd named but didn't? Google.)"
Re:I bet... (Score:2, Informative)
According to the article, it has to do with a lot more than smoking pot. Lexicon Branding typically uses well known and loved words, phrases and syllables, in trendy-sounding configurations [lexicon-branding.com], and I would stress that smoking pot in doing so would only help you reach that type of audience, and in most cases Lexicon's audience is much broader than that.
No Copyright For Names (Score:4, Informative)
> ...free of copyright ... gotchas.
A name cannot have any "copyright gotchas" . Names cannot be protected by copyright.
Second? Try third. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Windows 7 (Score:4, Informative)
I believe it's based on the official major releases of Windows NT, since the 9x kernel was abandoned.
1. Windows NT 3.1
2. Windows NT 3.5
3. Windows NT 4.0
4. Windows 2000
5. Windows XP
6. Windows Vista
7. Windows 7
Debian was ok with Firefox (Score:5, Informative)
> Then it became Firefox, and Debian didn't like that and called it IceWeasel.
Debian had no objection whatever to calling it Firefox. Mozilla objected to Debian doing so.
Re:Second? Try third. (Score:5, Informative)
No, Debian was forced to rename it due to their stance on trademarks.
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3634591 [internetnews.com]
Re:I bet... (Score:5, Informative)
product / company type
target audience
what sort of feeling the name should convey
the regions that the name will be used in
Namers then go off on their own and compose massive lists of names. I've seen the names run the gamut from simple mashups of common words to mashups of greek / latin roots to words based on etymological research of the original target "feeling" words. Then the namers get together and reduce the list down to a set of finalists before presenting them for client review.
Sometimes it takes a few iterations... Particularly if the objective is to get a globally trademarkable word that won't be misinterpreted as meaning anything offensive in another country.
MOD PARENT UP (Score:1, Informative)
Indeed, the parent is right.
It wasn't Debian which had any problems with the name "Firefox"; rather, Mozilla's terms of use for the trademarked name "Firefox" did not allow Debian to ship a version of the browser under that name with patches apply unless they'd received an OK from Mozilla first.
Debian, naturally, was not able and willing to allow an outside party to have that kind of influence on the project; but Mozilla wasn't willing to budge on this, either, so therefore, Debian had to change the name (thereby avoiding the whole trademark issue altogether).
Re:MSFT (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I bet... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:MSFT (Score:1, Informative)
Re:I bet... (Score:3, Informative)
Erm wasnt that Linksys?
If I recall correctly they didnt actually make a product for sale.
Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Re:I bet... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:TEN pages?! (Score:1, Informative)
Here you go, I did the legwork for you
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iPod: "Open the pod bay door, Hal"
During Apple's MP3 player development, Steve Jobs spoke of Apple's strategy: the Mac as a hub to other gadgets. Vinnie Chieco, a freelance copywriter Apple hired to help name the gadget before its debut in 2001, fixed on that idea, according to Wired. He brainstormed hubs of all kinds, eventually coming to the concept of a spaceship. You could leave it, but you'd have to return to refuel. The stark plastic front of the prototype inspired the final connection: pod, a la 2001. Add an "i" and the connection to the iMac was complete.
BlackBerry: Sweet Addictiveness
Canada's Research in Motion called on Lexicon Branding to help name its new wireless e-mail device in 2001. The consultancy pushed RIM founders away from the word "e-mail," which research shows can raise blood pressure. Instead, they looked for a name that would evoke joy and somehow give feelings of peace. After someone made the connection that the small buttons on the device resembled a bunch of seeds, Lexicon's team (see profile) explored names like strawberry, melon and various vegetables before settling on blackberry - a word both pleasing and which evoked the black color of the device.
Firefox: Second Time's a Charm
Choosing a name that evokes a product's essence and is available can be quite complicated, as the Mozilla folks found out. The early version of Mozilla's browser was called Firebird, but due to another open-source project with the same name, the Mozilla elders renamed their browser Firefox, which is another name for red panda. Why? "It's easy to remember. It sounds good. It's unique. We like it," they said. Best of all? Nobody else was using it.
Twitter: Connecting the Digital Flock 140 Characters at a Time
When cofounder Biz Stone saw the application that Jack Dorsey created in 2006 he was reminded of the way birds communicate: "Short bursts of information...Everyone is chirping, having a good time." In response, Stone came up with "twttr," and the group eventually added some vowels. It's hard to think of a more evocative name in the tech world than twitter, but what began as what Stone described as "trivial" bursts of communication developed into a powerful means of networking, breaking news, and forum for the 44th U.S. president's campaign.
Windows 7: Counting on the Power of 7
While Microsoft's next OS is kind of a "Ho-hum" name, one has only to look at what happened with the most recent Windows release to understand why Microsoft might have gone back to a tried-and-true naming philosophy: Vista? Ouch. Windows 95 and XP? Those have done much better. Microsoft's Mike Nash announced the name this way: "Simply put, this is the seventh release of Windows, so therefore 'Windows 7' just makes sense." We're betting that Microsoft execs are hoping that number 7 will deliver on its promise of luck-they could sure use a win after Vista.
ThinkPad: Simplicity Wins Out
The venerable line of PC notebooks rolled onto the scene in 1992. While the concept was spot on, there was turmoil at IBM as to what to call it. IBM's pen-computing group wanted to keep it simple; they liked ThinkPad. But IBM's corporate naming committee didn't-it didn't have a number, and every IBM product had to have a number, and how would ThinkPad translate into other languages? Due to the chutzpah of the IBMer who unveiled it, ThinkPad won out, and it was a huge hit for IBM, which eventually sold it to Lenovo in 2005.
Android: Secretive, But Still Not Exciting
You'd think the story behind the naming of the Open Handset Alliance's new open-source platform for mobile devices, which includes the brand-new G1 loaded with Google's goodies, would be cool. But, uh, not so much. Back in 2005, Google quietly acquired a mysterious startup named Android Inc., which had been operating under "a cloak of secrecy" on "making software for mobile phones," reported Businessweek. The result of all Google's secrecy and Internet hype was the debut
Re:German naming process... (Score:5, Informative)
Pun fail.
It's pronounced like ""wuster"".
Re:His explanation of Google's name is BS (Score:2, Informative)
when was the last time you heard of yahoo?
Every couple of weeks when Microsoft doesn't buy them.