Is The iPad Just A Joke?
What’s in a name? Apparently, for some of Apple’s followers, a name means a lot.
Steve Jobs and Apple recently introduced its newest baby to the public: the iPad. Despite the fact that it is something that the industry has been looking forward to for a long time, it drew a lot of flak for one thing: its name.
The concept of the iPad may have something to do with the sudden surge in popularity of iPad name jokes. Back when it was still to be unveiled to the public, there were names already speculated for Apple’s newest state-of-the-art device. Since it belonged to a totally new concept in computer technology, there was some discussion on what to call it, especially since the term slate computers, or the iSlate, simply did not create instant recall. Other industry insiders called it a tablet, but the term was more synonymous with the keyboards with pens that became popular back in the 1990s. So the iPad it was.
After Apple announced the coming of the iPad, a lot of jokes started circulating online, and all were saying that the phrase Buying a iPad simply makes them think of a feminine hygiene product. People mocked the iPad, with some even going to as far as saying that, “Yes, the iPad is small, lightweight and slim. But can you swim with it?” (from the Los Angeles Times). Other terms like iTampon have also made its online rounds, specifically in Twitter.
Actually, years before the iPad was introduced to the public, MADtv already made fun of it. At that time, though, what the women on the show talked about was an Apple product for period maintenance that was known as – you guessed it – the iPad!
Even after the keyboard-less device was unveiled to the public, the iPad name jokes continued. However, some industry observers note that even the iPod didn’t escape such name scrutiny. When it was first introduced to the public, people were not so keen on the name iPod. Today, the term iPod has become such a part of our standard vocabulary that it has began to sound as natural as our everyday words.
One of the reasons for the name, many believe, is that it lives up to Apple’s “i” line – the iPod, iTouch, the iPhone, and now, the iPad. It creates excellent branding so that people are easily able to identify the product as one that belongs to Apple; as one that is as good as all of Apple’s other “i” products.
Most technology columnists and experts, though, believe that these iPad name jokes will eventually die a natural death. In the end, people will continue to buy the iPad not because of its name, but because of what it has to offer. People will get used to the name iPad because it is synonymous with a company that is considered one of the best and most innovative in the world – Apple.
So even if the jokes continue to make the rounds of the World Wide Web, Steve Jobs won’t really mind. As long as there are people who buy his product, and there are people who love his newest baby, the name does not really matter to Jobs.