IF this is indeed the name, I think it is a good one. ... the primary thing I thought of before thinking of slates like those tiling my roof, is the little individual blackboards that every child carried to school a hundred years ago.
I thought the same at first, but the more I hear it, the dumber and clunkier "iSlate" sounds. I agree that the evidence is pointing towards that being the name, but I think it's a poor choice. Apple has been making some really dumb and déclassé moves lately though so it's not beyond the realm of possibility that they would pick "iSlate."
If they do pick it, it's obviously meant to key into the colonial "school slates" as you mention above, but this is a very particular, very time isolated, and very American reference. For those reasons "iSlate" is as bad a choice for a new tablet computer, as naming a new type of car the "Ben Franklin" would be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by krabbelen
... A book you open, hence iBook. A pad you would flip open too, so iPad wouldn't work. ...
I tend to disagree with you here also as I don't think a "pad" (of paper) is generally flipped open nowadays, most have no front cover.
Given that the tablet is trying to replace things like an artists pad, a writing pad, a steno pad, or any clipboard (usually with some pad or stack of paper attached), I think "iPad" is clearly the best choice. Even a book is really just a pad of paper. It also neatly fits with their mobile nomenclature in that it's a single syllable word that begins with a small "i" and big "P."
- iPod
- iPhone
- iPad
Despite the unfortunate menstrual pad reference that people keep bringing up, "iPad" rolls off the tongue a lot easier and actually references the tools and the media that the device is purporting to replace.
"iSlate" is probably what they are going with, but IMO it's a mistake. It's a clunky old-timey name that references an era of American history that most Americans are unaware of, let alone anyone else.
If they do pick it, it's obviously meant to key into the colonial "school slates" as you mention above, but this is a very particular, very time isolated, and very American reference. For those reasons "iSlate" is as bad a choice for a new tablet computer, as naming a new type of car the "Ben Franklin" would be.
Believe it or not, children used slates in schools at other times and in other places than colonial America. They were in persistent use everywhere until the early part of the 20th century, at least.
The reason why this is a bad name for the Apple product is because it denotes heavy, primitive, and very limited function. The only reason it seems anyone is even talking about this name is because so many media writers don't seem to know what other name to use to describe a product they haven't seen, and have no idea how it will look or function. It's caught on by default -- otherwise, it makes no sense at all.
Who cares about the name. Have credit card, will purchase. Hurry up Apple and drop this thing. I will be in the States during Feb and March. Hopefully just in time to pick up one or two.
Believe it or not, children used slates in schools at other times and in other places than colonial America. They were in persistent use everywhere until the early part of the 20th century, at least. ....
Well granted it wasn't just the USA, but only the USA seems to remember the things fondly at all. Culturally, the term mostly references the little red schoolhouse kind of era of American History.
Anyway, I would still argue it's a horrible choice to name a product after something that no living person can remember using. You might see a slate in a Norman Rockwell painting, and in the 1950's the name would have some nostalgic appeal, but most people alive today have no idea that a "slate" was a thing you used in school to write on.
You only have to look at forums discussing the name to see that half of the posters don't understand where the reference comes from. Worse, some are looking it up in the Thesaurus and coming up with the wrong meaning, because it's a term in such disuse that it only rates as the third or fourth reference in the online Dictionaries and Thesauri being used.
Show me one instance where the name of something affected its functionality. So if an iPod suddenly becomes aeöwlqjr9queq, it will no longer function as an iPod? Second, my post was based in humor more than anything else. Third, I could not care less what it is call because I try not to be a pedantic whiner (not saying you are) who bitches and moans about everything (again, not saying you do) that Apple does and does not do.
Show me one instance where the name of something affected its functionality. So if an iPod suddenly becomes aeöwlqjr9queq, it will no longer function as an iPod? Second, my post was based in humor more than anything else. Third, I could not care less what it is call because I try not to be a pedantic whiner (not saying you are) who bitches and moans about everything (again, not saying you do) that Apple does and does not do.
Functionality is not the point. Almost everybody knows what a MacBook is (one word tells you it is by Apple, it is a laptop, you want it). Who knows what a VGNZ55X is? No, it is not the device Ike Willis plooked in "Joe's Garage" - it is actually a 13" Sony laptop that can cost you as much as 4.2k when ordering all the options... just, you won't, because less than 20 words later you can't even recall it. How many articles will you see featuring "VGNZ55X" in the headline - and if, who (except Sony staff and Engadget addicts) would look at them? Even if a name is dull... as long as people can remember it and it conveys a picture - it is good. "iSlate" tells me it is by Apple and I can write on it. Enough to make we want more information. Try that with any other combination of six letters (assuming "free t&a" does not count)...
I really hated the move from "PowerBook" to "MacBook" and thought it was dull. Of course, I was wrong. Not even 3% of the world population knew that a PowerBook was a Mac...
I agree. For me, it's still Mactouch ftw! Anything just doesn't fit. I have a feeling "iSlate" is Steve Jobs idea. Steve is brilliant at tech design but SUCKS at marketing. That's why he surrounds himself with brilliant people. What was the name of the guy in Apple marketing who came up with the name "iMac"? That is the guy who should come up with a name for the tablet.
I hope it's not the same person that came up with the name "iSlate". We will all find out soon enough.
There are several reasons it won't be "Mac Touch", despite your aspirations.
First of all, it won't be a Mac. It will run a modified version of the iPhone OS, which will be called "OS X" by Apple, but will be far more akin to the iPhone OS. It will run iPhone apps natively.
If it doesn't run the same OS X that Macs run, it won't be "Mac" anything.
Secondly, it won't end in "Touch" because that will cause too much confusion with the iPod Touch (which the majority of people stupidly call the iTouch). I see a small possibility of Touch-something, like "Touch Pro" or "TouchBook".
That said, I also think it iNomenclature is too old to keep pushing. It's run it's course, or it should have. I can't believe Steve thinks different(ly) about that. That's why I don't like "iSlate" and I would prefer the "Apple Slate".
"Newton" would not be a bad choice, as it does draw on the idea of "the idea" as well as something sophisticated and scientific. And unlike iBook, the old Newton is so far dead that it's unlikely anyone will be confusing the new and old products.
Or...
It could be something totally unexpected, like iPod was. Something that won't have as much chance of being a trademark issue. Like the Apple Whiteboard or the Apple Ideaboard or something equally as unappealing to some as iPod was to many at the time of its launch.
Fine then no "MacTouch".
But I agree that the "i" moniker has run it's course. We need something new, thrilling and groundbreaking that will coincide to what this product will most likely be like.
Well granted it wasn't just the USA, but only the USA seems to remember the things fondly at all. Culturally, the term mostly references the little red schoolhouse kind of era of American History.
I can't claim any knowledge of foreign nostalgia, but I think it's correct to point out that the historical reference means little to anyone alive today. That fact alone may give the use of the name some perverse logic. A pod referred to nothing related to technology until Apple added the "i" and then it became a thing recognized the world over. So let's hear it for arbitrary words that attain cultural significance because one company wills it to be.
I've thought about this for a little while and even though some stupid people would make references to feminine products, I would settle with the term "iPad" for this device. In fact, I would be comfortable and enthusiastic about the name if it does turn out to be the "iPad".
If it won't be called the MacTouch and if Apple needs to continue to use the "i" moniker then let it please be called the iPad.
Simple, to the point, and it makes a statement. I like the iPad. I don't like the iSlate. The iSlate sounds like a rip off product from asia.
I like the meaning of the name iSlate, but I don't like the sound of it. And to be honest, not being native in English, I had to look up the word to understand it.
The problem is it's not catchy at all, and doesn't have an international appeal in its pronounciation. The whole start "ISL-" is a tongue twister. But then again, "MacBook Pro" is also an aweful name, but it's accepted now. Once it's introduced as iSlate it's going to be accepted.
If it doesn't run the same OS X that Macs run, it won't be "Mac" anything.
Yeah, I agree with that. I'd like it to run OS X but the reality is that OS X only runs well on more modern processors. If this is a low power device with passive cooling, it'll be the iphone OS so can't be a Mac as you say. I really think multi-core ARM from PA Semi, possibly NVidia Tegra 2 (which can make it's way into the iphone 4G).
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonton
Secondly, it won't end in "Touch" because that will cause too much confusion with the iPod Touch (which the majority of people stupidly call the iTouch). I see a small possibility of Touch-something, like "Touch Pro" or "TouchBook".
I liked the idea of iTouch simply because it would force people to correct themselves when using iTouch to refer to the iPod Touch.
They could also have something like Apple TouchPad. The use of the letter 'i' is getting a bit overused but on the other hand you know it's an Apple product.
Someone mentioned powerbook before and not liking the name change - I was the same - but PC sellers on eBay and even some retailers started using powerbook to describe their products. With MacBook they can't and people instinctively know it's a Mac.
The iPad could get confused with iPod with some heavy accents. Something like TouchPad doesn't but then again, people won't say Apple TouchPad so you lose the Apple connection. They say Apple TV because TV is too generic.
With MobileMe naming, they can call it the Apple TouchMe. That way when an attractive female Apple Store employee asks 'do you want a TouchMe?', I can innocently misinterpret what she's saying.
The words touch or feel I think are important to put in the name just like with the ipod touch.
I think it would be better in conversation saying 'can you pass me your TouchPad' than 'can you pass your iPad'. iSlate is just so much worse though. The first thing you read is 'is late' and maybe it's a pun on the fact that it's been cancelled a few times but slate is a harsh word.
By the way.. if this is a two years old name, one could only assume that they have come up with a lot of new (better) names on the way. So, it was probably called iSlate two years ago, but today it could potentially be called anything.
Comments
IF this is indeed the name, I think it is a good one. ... the primary thing I thought of before thinking of slates like those tiling my roof, is the little individual blackboards that every child carried to school a hundred years ago.
I thought the same at first, but the more I hear it, the dumber and clunkier "iSlate" sounds. I agree that the evidence is pointing towards that being the name, but I think it's a poor choice. Apple has been making some really dumb and déclassé moves lately though so it's not beyond the realm of possibility that they would pick "iSlate."
If they do pick it, it's obviously meant to key into the colonial "school slates" as you mention above, but this is a very particular, very time isolated, and very American reference. For those reasons "iSlate" is as bad a choice for a new tablet computer, as naming a new type of car the "Ben Franklin" would be.
... A book you open, hence iBook. A pad you would flip open too, so iPad wouldn't work. ...
I tend to disagree with you here also as I don't think a "pad" (of paper) is generally flipped open nowadays, most have no front cover.
Given that the tablet is trying to replace things like an artists pad, a writing pad, a steno pad, or any clipboard (usually with some pad or stack of paper attached), I think "iPad" is clearly the best choice. Even a book is really just a pad of paper. It also neatly fits with their mobile nomenclature in that it's a single syllable word that begins with a small "i" and big "P."
- iPod
- iPhone
- iPad
Despite the unfortunate menstrual pad reference that people keep bringing up, "iPad" rolls off the tongue a lot easier and actually references the tools and the media that the device is purporting to replace.
"iSlate" is probably what they are going with, but IMO it's a mistake. It's a clunky old-timey name that references an era of American history that most Americans are unaware of, let alone anyone else.
If they do pick it, it's obviously meant to key into the colonial "school slates" as you mention above, but this is a very particular, very time isolated, and very American reference. For those reasons "iSlate" is as bad a choice for a new tablet computer, as naming a new type of car the "Ben Franklin" would be.
Believe it or not, children used slates in schools at other times and in other places than colonial America. They were in persistent use everywhere until the early part of the 20th century, at least.
The reason why this is a bad name for the Apple product is because it denotes heavy, primitive, and very limited function. The only reason it seems anyone is even talking about this name is because so many media writers don't seem to know what other name to use to describe a product they haven't seen, and have no idea how it will look or function. It's caught on by default -- otherwise, it makes no sense at all.
Who cares about the name.
Names matter.
Believe it or not, children used slates in schools at other times and in other places than colonial America. They were in persistent use everywhere until the early part of the 20th century, at least. ....
Well granted it wasn't just the USA, but only the USA seems to remember the things fondly at all. Culturally, the term mostly references the little red schoolhouse kind of era of American History.
Anyway, I would still argue it's a horrible choice to name a product after something that no living person can remember using. You might see a slate in a Norman Rockwell painting, and in the 1950's the name would have some nostalgic appeal, but most people alive today have no idea that a "slate" was a thing you used in school to write on.
You only have to look at forums discussing the name to see that half of the posters don't understand where the reference comes from. Worse, some are looking it up in the Thesaurus and coming up with the wrong meaning, because it's a term in such disuse that it only rates as the third or fourth reference in the online Dictionaries and Thesauri being used.
Names matter.
Show me one instance where the name of something affected its functionality. So if an iPod suddenly becomes aeöwlqjr9queq, it will no longer function as an iPod? Second, my post was based in humor more than anything else. Third, I could not care less what it is call because I try not to be a pedantic whiner (not saying you are) who bitches and moans about everything (again, not saying you do) that Apple does and does not do.
(maybe it wasn't the first generation of the tablet)
Show me one instance where the name of something affected its functionality. So if an iPod suddenly becomes aeöwlqjr9queq, it will no longer function as an iPod? Second, my post was based in humor more than anything else. Third, I could not care less what it is call because I try not to be a pedantic whiner (not saying you are) who bitches and moans about everything (again, not saying you do) that Apple does and does not do.
Functionality is not the point. Almost everybody knows what a MacBook is (one word tells you it is by Apple, it is a laptop, you want it). Who knows what a VGNZ55X is? No, it is not the device Ike Willis plooked in "Joe's Garage" - it is actually a 13" Sony laptop that can cost you as much as 4.2k when ordering all the options... just, you won't, because less than 20 words later you can't even recall it. How many articles will you see featuring "VGNZ55X" in the headline - and if, who (except Sony staff and Engadget addicts) would look at them? Even if a name is dull... as long as people can remember it and it conveys a picture - it is good. "iSlate" tells me it is by Apple and I can write on it. Enough to make we want more information. Try that with any other combination of six letters (assuming "free t&a" does not count)...
I really hated the move from "PowerBook" to "MacBook" and thought it was dull. Of course, I was wrong. Not even 3% of the world population knew that a PowerBook was a Mac...
iSlate?.... Umm................. no.
I agree. For me, it's still Mactouch ftw! Anything just doesn't fit. I have a feeling "iSlate" is Steve Jobs idea. Steve is brilliant at tech design but SUCKS at marketing. That's why he surrounds himself with brilliant people. What was the name of the guy in Apple marketing who came up with the name "iMac"? That is the guy who should come up with a name for the tablet.
I hope it's not the same person that came up with the name "iSlate". We will all find out soon enough.
The tablet will be called 'Mac touch' and that's the end of it.
So stick your iSlate in your iEye and watch your iSight go iByeBye.
MacTOUCH FTW!
There are several reasons it won't be "Mac Touch", despite your aspirations.
First of all, it won't be a Mac. It will run a modified version of the iPhone OS, which will be called "OS X" by Apple, but will be far more akin to the iPhone OS. It will run iPhone apps natively.
If it doesn't run the same OS X that Macs run, it won't be "Mac" anything.
Secondly, it won't end in "Touch" because that will cause too much confusion with the iPod Touch (which the majority of people stupidly call the iTouch). I see a small possibility of Touch-something, like "Touch Pro" or "TouchBook".
That said, I also think it iNomenclature is too old to keep pushing. It's run it's course, or it should have. I can't believe Steve thinks different(ly) about that. That's why I don't like "iSlate" and I would prefer the "Apple Slate".
"Newton" would not be a bad choice, as it does draw on the idea of "the idea" as well as something sophisticated and scientific. And unlike iBook, the old Newton is so far dead that it's unlikely anyone will be confusing the new and old products.
Or...
It could be something totally unexpected, like iPod was. Something that won't have as much chance of being a trademark issue. Like the Apple Whiteboard or the Apple Ideaboard or something equally as unappealing to some as iPod was to many at the time of its launch.
Fine then no "MacTouch".
But I agree that the "i" moniker has run it's course. We need something new, thrilling and groundbreaking that will coincide to what this product will most likely be like.
i'd love to see it !
Well granted it wasn't just the USA, but only the USA seems to remember the things fondly at all. Culturally, the term mostly references the little red schoolhouse kind of era of American History.
I can't claim any knowledge of foreign nostalgia, but I think it's correct to point out that the historical reference means little to anyone alive today. That fact alone may give the use of the name some perverse logic. A pod referred to nothing related to technology until Apple added the "i" and then it became a thing recognized the world over. So let's hear it for arbitrary words that attain cultural significance because one company wills it to be.
Dude, "books" fold, tablets do not.
Not e-books.
If it won't be called the MacTouch and if Apple needs to continue to use the "i" moniker then let it please be called the iPad.
Simple, to the point, and it makes a statement. I like the iPad. I don't like the iSlate. The iSlate sounds like a rip off product from asia.
The problem is it's not catchy at all, and doesn't have an international appeal in its pronounciation. The whole start "ISL-" is a tongue twister. But then again, "MacBook Pro" is also an aweful name, but it's accepted now. Once it's introduced as iSlate it's going to be accepted.
I associate iSlate with
- Ice Late
- Isolate
- I slayed
- Is late
- It's late
- Ice latte
If it doesn't run the same OS X that Macs run, it won't be "Mac" anything.
Yeah, I agree with that. I'd like it to run OS X but the reality is that OS X only runs well on more modern processors. If this is a low power device with passive cooling, it'll be the iphone OS so can't be a Mac as you say. I really think multi-core ARM from PA Semi, possibly NVidia Tegra 2 (which can make it's way into the iphone 4G).
Secondly, it won't end in "Touch" because that will cause too much confusion with the iPod Touch (which the majority of people stupidly call the iTouch). I see a small possibility of Touch-something, like "Touch Pro" or "TouchBook".
I liked the idea of iTouch simply because it would force people to correct themselves when using iTouch to refer to the iPod Touch.
They could also have something like Apple TouchPad. The use of the letter 'i' is getting a bit overused but on the other hand you know it's an Apple product.
Someone mentioned powerbook before and not liking the name change - I was the same - but PC sellers on eBay and even some retailers started using powerbook to describe their products. With MacBook they can't and people instinctively know it's a Mac.
The iPad could get confused with iPod with some heavy accents. Something like TouchPad doesn't but then again, people won't say Apple TouchPad so you lose the Apple connection. They say Apple TV because TV is too generic.
With MobileMe naming, they can call it the Apple TouchMe. That way when an attractive female Apple Store employee asks 'do you want a TouchMe?', I can innocently misinterpret what she's saying.
The words touch or feel I think are important to put in the name just like with the ipod touch.
I think it would be better in conversation saying 'can you pass me your TouchPad' than 'can you pass your iPad'. iSlate is just so much worse though. The first thing you read is 'is late' and maybe it's a pun on the fact that it's been cancelled a few times but slate is a harsh word.