10-06-2004, 08:00 AM
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Swami
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 4,303
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A PDA by Any Other Name.......?
"The other day I found myself trying to tell the country (via BBC Radio Five Live) that the iPod, a cultural icon everyone knows by name, wasn�t the best MP3 player around. Instead, the best was the iRiver iHP-100 series player. You could sense the eyes glazing over before I reached the letter �P�. It didn�t matter that battery was superior, that it was cheaper and did a great many more things. The iPod not only looks great, it�s name sounds better. Why would they want an iRiver idon�tknowXYZthingumiewatsit to complicate their lives? There�s a whole host of ludicrously named technology out there: only a few companies seem to get it right. Yet a name means so much. It stamps a personality on a product."
I think Nick Ross make a very good point in the November issue of PcPro (the article is not currently on-line). Personally I think that the latest batch of HP Pockets PCs are a particularly bad example of an odd naming scheme, as we�ve previously discussed. PDA's aren't exactly known for their snappy product names, are they? Have you guys got any suggestions of a good Pocket PC model 'name'? The PCPro Top 10 Silliest technology product names does not include any PDAs, but should it? ;-) What�s your personal favourite daft technology product name and do you think getting the name right really matters? After all, as Shakespeare once said: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet."
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10-06-2004, 10:57 AM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Re: A PDA by Any Other Name.......?
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Originally Posted by Jonathon Watkins
What�s your personal favourite daft technology product name and do you think getting the name right really matters? After all, as Shakespeare once said: "A Rose by any other name would still smell as sweet."
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I wouldn't say it really matters overall, although a catchier name sure does stick into the minds of many consumers. However, people look more at features rather than names, so if a product has the catchiest name of all time, yet delivers poor features, I doubt it would sell as fast as a device that lacked a "cool" name yet delivered a bundle of features worth having.
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10-06-2004, 11:28 AM
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Thoughts Media Review Team
Join Date: May 2002
Posts: 1,004
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I always thought "Jornada" was a prettysilly name (as much as I liked the device itself) - it never really rolled of the tongue - and as a result my Jornada ended up just being referred to as "the gadget". The name has stuck with my Toshiba e755.
On the other hand my Newtons (of whatever model) were always "the Newton", a name that certainly worked for me.
Of the various PPC brand/model names I think iPaq was the only one with that "roll of the tongue, stick in the mind" consumer appeal. On that basis it certainly seems strange that HP is moving away from it toward some very odd model designations.
__________________
...waiting for the arrival of my Axim x50v...But I still love my Newtons!
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10-06-2004, 11:31 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 227
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When you go after a MASS market, like apple has with the IPod, we have to realize the reality that the majority of consumers will be average or below average interested in the technology per say, i.e. the specific technical features. and the overall CORE functionality and use (conveniece, useability, playability) will be what will be noticed more... this includes the "personality" of the product which is attained by giving it a name...
so while i agree with you DJ, that for you and me (I'm taking the liberty to assumeYou and I are perhaps a tad bit more informed and interested about the specs adn features of what we get comapred to an average mass consumer of an MP3 player) the name may not make such a big difference in the big scheme of things, but for the mass market, in the long run it can end up being a major contributor to the success of the product.
I'm sorry sometimes my writings even confuse me... like i'm going in circles... if this is one of those times (seems like it), I apologize 
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10-06-2004, 11:39 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 23
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It depends on your target market
Owning an iRiver myself, I wholeheartedly agree with Nick Ross on this (I cannot recommend iRiver's products enough!). The iPod just doesn't stack up for feature-loving nerds like myself.
For the other 6 people who work in my office, they don't even know what an MP3 is, yet they all want an iPod. That's the power of good branding.
G
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10-06-2004, 11:47 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 318
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Quote:
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However, people look more at features rather than names, so if a product has the catchiest name of all time, yet delivers poor features, I doubt it would sell as fast as a device that lacked a "cool" name yet delivered a bundle of features worth having.
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Sorry I don't think that's true.
I bet if you asked people to name a hardware MP3 Player they would say IPOD. I own a Ipod and it's great at what it does just play MP3's (that and the Itrip are what I brought it for).
But the point is calling something a daft name doesn't help the product.
The fact that people in the know (you or I) can differentiate between a low feature product (Like the IPOD) and a high featured product (Like the IRiver) is irrelevant. If they want a MP3 player the first one that they think of is a IPOD.
The Iriver will never be as successfully not because Apple were the first to market (because they weren't) but because everybody knows what a IPOD is!
IPAQ and Palm's are another good point. Both a synonymous with PDA's that fact that PALM call their units something snappy like the TT1/2/3/4/5 helps people remember BUT HP following their corporate naming scheme and use some thinking IPAQ RZ232378217298 is plan stupid. Take a consumer focused item like the Rx3715 means it's not going to succeed.
In a business world people don't really care about names but the consumer world is different. What works for Business doesn't work for consumer.
Now if they'd called it a IPAQ RX3 or IPAQ R3 it might of helped.
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10-06-2004, 12:04 PM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by humayunl
so while i agree with you DJ, that for you and me (I'm taking the liberty to assumeYou and I are perhaps a tad bit more informed and interested about the specs adn features of what we get comapred to an average mass consumer of an MP3 player) the name may not make such a big difference in the big scheme of things, but for the mass market, in the long run it can end up being a major contributor to the success of the product.
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Oh definitely! I recently purchased a Creative Zen Touch for a friend. Now the Zen Touch and the iPod are two very competitive products. But... quoting carphead - "I bet if you asked people to name a hardware MP3 Player they would say IPOD. I own a Ipod and it's great at what it does just play MP3's (that and the Itrip are what I brought it for).", I'd say I have to agree with you. The first thing people think of now when you associate an MP3 player with everyday life is the "iPod". While people have heard of Creative, very few have heard of the Zen Touch. The reason why I purchased the Zen Touch for my friend was because feature-wise, I thought the Creative offered more (and also because I have this thing with anything Apple-related but that's beside the point :P). On the grand scheme of things, everyday not-so-well-informed consumers will pick an iPod, which is why when you walk down the street, you usually see those characteristic white earphones and the iPod belt clip. However, for "us G33Ks", I'd have to say that in the majority of cases, we'd worry more about features than the name of the device itself.
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10-06-2004, 12:22 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,264
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Most likely the readers here are far more technogeeky than the average consumer. We understand the technology enough to understand all the really cool features. For the average consumer, simplicity is king. When making a product, you need to consider the average intelligence of a user and then factor in that half the people are dumber. For them complicated name equals complicated product.
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10-06-2004, 01:43 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 221
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Has anyone tried buying a graphics card recently? Without a doubt that's the worst consumer level area for dumb overcomplicated names.
Heck, some of their names read like a small novel.
"Ultra Monster Radeon 9800 Pro VIVO TV 128MB Extreme" is among the shortest and snappiest of the names.
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10-06-2004, 01:49 PM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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Don't you just love the naming convention of phones? :P
Just when you think there's a 6610, there is now a 6610i. But wait, there is also a 6220, and a 6230, but aren't you forgetting the 6100 as well. But what about the 6800? Now that's cool.
Sadly, I can put a name to every phone I see now because that's how hard-core tech-geek I've become, but for the average consumer, I swear it's a migraine-inducer.
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