names
Phones
The Snazzy Samsung OmniaHD Morphs into Plain Jane Samsung i8910
11:20AM Erica Ho | The Samsung OmniaHD is losing its name and will now be known as its old, boring model number. It’s just like when Mother is mad and calls you by your real name instead of “sweetpea.” More »
Gadgets
TiVo Was Almost Called Bongo, Plus Other Tech Name Origins
5:20AM Jason Chen | Mentalfloss has a list of eight tech product names, their origins and what they could have been called. For example, TiVo could have been Bongo, and Hulu means butt in Indonesian. Haha, butt. [Mentalfloss] More »
Business
11:12AM Nick Broughall | Remember when Psion came out and said they had a trademark on the word Netbook and that everyone should stop using it? Well they actually meant it. What a bunch of douchebags! According to an email sent from Retravision head office this morning, the retailer “MUST stop using the definition ‘NETBOOK’” (their caps). Not only that, but they have to remove all references to the word from “all collateral, web, presentations etc”. You have to feel for retailers in this situation – netbooks is such an apt way to describe these cheap little computers, and even though they’re working on a replacement name it almost certainly won’t have the same sort of marketing appeal. More »
Retailers Actually Being Told To Stop Using The Term ‘Netbook’
11:12AM Nick Broughall | Remember when Psion came out and said they had a trademark on the word Netbook and that everyone should stop using it? Well they actually meant it. What a bunch of douchebags! According to an email sent from Retravision head office this morning, the retailer “MUST stop using the definition ‘NETBOOK’” (their caps). Not only that, but they have to remove all references to the word from “all collateral, web, presentations etc”. You have to feel for retailers in this situation – netbooks is such an apt way to describe these cheap little computers, and even though they’re working on a replacement name it almost certainly won’t have the same sort of marketing appeal. More »
Random Stuff
Space Age Fetishism Getting Silly New Moniker: Atompunk
6:00PM Elaine Chow | Are you obsessed with Sputnik, the Space Race, Google architecture and radioactive powers for superheroes? Look out, it seems like your fetish is about to get a name: “Atompunk.” More »
Gadgets
How Famous Tech Products Got Their Unforgettable Names
8:20AM Matt Buchanan | It’s not really hard to guess how OS X and Windows 7 got their name. But what about IBM’s ThinkPad? Or Firefox? CIO has a rundown of the origins of 10 tech products’ iconic names—like just where the hell iPod and Twitter came from. Surprisingly none were picked at random out of a hat after taking a large quantity of drugs, which is how I hoped at least one came to be. They also talk to David Placek, the brains behind perhaps more superstar tech brands than anyone, like BlackBerry. And Zune, though he doesn’t deign to explain that particular mystery. [CIO via Slashdot]
Phones
Smartphone Is a Dumb Word: We Need a New Name
3:00AM Jason Chen | digg_skin = 'compact'; digg_bgcolor = '#f1f8fa'; digg_url = 'http://digg.com/hardware/New_Name_For_Phones'; It’s 2008. Why are we still calling the devices we carry in our pockets “phones.” The difference between cordless phones and mobile phones is just one word, though the difference in functionality is vast. Even more clumsily, we call phones with email and web browsing “smartphones,” despite most modern geeks using less than 10% of their battery to make calls. With so many disparate core features—emailing and browsing, plus texting, video calling, video recording, pic snapping, music listening, video watching, game playing and day organising—shouldn’t we be ditching the word “phone”? The term is so…1876. We need a new name, and I humbly suggest “com.” Follow me on this one: More »
Games
How the Name ‘Wii’ Saved This Dude’s Social Life
7:40AM Sean Fallon | When the Wii console first came out, everyone and their mother commented on how stupid the name was. It still is to be perfectly honest, but after a couple of years we have grown more accustomed to hearing it. But imagine what it would be like if your legal name was Wii? Believe it or not, a guy named Wii Yatani has had the now famous moniker since birth, and he claims that Nintendo’s console has changed his life for the better. More »
Hardware
Linksys Should Re-Think Their Router Naming Conventions
7:40AM Jason Chen | Linksys’ upcoming WRT610N Ultra Rangeplus Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router may look great and perform great, but it’s got one of the most ridiculous names we’ve ever seen. Don’t take it from us, take it from Linksys’s own Mani Dillon, who can’t manage to get the name out without looking at the box. And even then, not so much luck. The money shot comes at 1:05. We love ya Mani! More »
Science
