What is Apple Going to Name its Forthcoming Tablet?


27 January 2010 UPDATE: Apple has announced that their tablet will be called the iPad.

Apple's rumored tablet has been getting significant press coverage recently, and most people seem to be referring to it as the "iTablet."


Google Trends Graph for "iTablet"


Apple's forthcoming tablet is NOT going to be called the "iTablet"

Product Release
iMac 1998
iBook 1999
iPod 2001
iTunes 2001
iLife 2003
iSight 2003
iWork 2005
iPhone 2007

When you consider the history of Apple's major "i" family of products, it is clear that a trend has been established. The table on the left is a list of all major Apple products with the "i" prefix. You can see that all of the names following the "i" have a single syllable. Some exceptions include iMovie and iPhoto but these are, of course, not major products.

Other minor single-syllable Apple products include: iCal, iWeb and iChat.

When you consider this single syllable limitation, there is a significantly smaller set of names that can capture the essence of the device.

Best Guess: iPad, iTab

Possible: iSlate, iSlab

Unlikely: iBlock, iReam, iSee, iSheet

Update: There are lots of great ideas in the comments section below. Many of you are saying that Apple's tablet may not deserve a new "i" family name. Some great suggestions include: iPage, Pad Pro, iMac Tablet, iMac Tab, iMac Pad, MacBook Touch, iBook Tablet

Have any other ideas? Let us know in the comments below.

 
+11

Answer by  philosophy (243)

iSlate is probably the most technically correct, because these types of devices are called "slate computers." But it just sounds a little too stark. iPad is a little too similar to iPod, so they might steer away from that to avoid confusion. Will be fun to see what they choose!

Reply by Cubberley (69):
i just read that apply owns the domain islate. com - the plot thickens.  add a comment
 
+10

Answer by  Anonymous

iScribe

 
+9

Answer by  Anonymous

I dont' think it'll be i anything. I think it'll be Macbook something or other. Macbook Tablet or Macbook Flat.

 
+9

Answer by  hefito (226)

Only 4 of the 8 products in the table are what I could consider big (i.e., mainstream): iMac, iPod, iTunes, and iPhone. My guess is iTab or iMac Tablet will be big too.

Reply by DulceDeLeche (219):
I think you are right about the big four, but they are all still single syllable, and I am in the camp that believes that Apple will continue to use single-syllable names for its big guns.  add a comment
 
+8

Answer by  Anonymous

Macbook Touch

 
+8

Answer by  Anonymous

iPage

 
+8

Answer by  greysquirrel (239)

I like iSlate and iSlab (those are clever), but I don't think it'll be that. My bet is on iPad too.

 
+7

Answer by  Anonymous

I believe it will be called "iDifference Engine"

 
+7

Answer by  Anonymous

MacBook "whatever" is not going to happen. How confusing to have "book" anywhere near a device that doesn't open and close. I wouldn't be surprised if they avoided the term "tablet" altogether, as tablet PCs have been a bust. iSlate sounds like a failure waiting to happen. We'll see...

 
+7

Answer by  Anonymous

iPad -hackjackal-

 
+7

Answer by  Anonymous

iMeMine "... eveyone's saying it... All through the day, iMeMine, iMeMine, iMeMine... "

 
+7

Answer by  Anonymous

ibook. this is obvious

posted by Anonymous
They already used that  add a comment
 
+7

Answer by  Anonymous

iTouch. One syllable. The name tells you exactly how it works.

Reply by tschebyshev (252):
I think you might be on to something here... the only downside of this one is that it is confusing with the iPod Touch... but I wouldn't be surprised if they went for this one.  add a comment
 
+7

Answer by  Anonymous

I've read it will be called a "Pad Pro"

 
+7

Answer by  Anonymous

Seeing the the original 13" MacBooks are being phased out, i'd stab a guess at "MacBook Touch" perhaps?

Reply by onecrore (196):
Maybe... but I think that this device is definitively flat like a tablet or a slate, so I am not sure if they would go with a book metaphor... books have two halves that open up and are therefore better suited for clamshell-type laptops/notebooks.  add a comment
posted by Anonymous
to onecrore what if they have a lid or cover that you have to open and then it will fit with teh book metaphor again because i seriously dont expect a flat touchscreen device that size to be sold without as litte as a thin plastic door  add a comment
 
+7

Answer by  mixedup (64)

No other ideas, really. I suspect iPad would be the right choice. For one thing, it sounds a bit like iPod and, for another, it "looks like" a pad a paper -- not to mention that consumers probably want to use it much as they have a clip board and pad of paper, in the past.

 
+7

Answer by  sunny83 (157)

I have a Touch and I always call it the iTouch but it's technically an iPod Touch. I wonder if the tablet might be named in that style -- something like the iMac Tablet, or iMac Tab, or iMac Pad.

 
+6

Answer by  Anonymous

I vote Macbook Touch if it includes a disc drive and Atom processor and HDD and such, but I vote Touch Pro if there's no disc drive or HDD just heavy amounts of flash memory.

 
+6

Answer by  werty1432k (6)

I think it will be called the MacBook because they will get rid of the white macbook and have the term macbook free. Then all their notebooks (laptops) will have the "Pro" moniker. Macbook because its like a book (slate, tablet)

posted by Anonymous
They also have the iBook name available now.  add a comment
 
+6

Answer by  Fast1195 (6)

iWrite? it seems like they could use this name based in the fact if it is like a pad of paper you can use it for notes and writing, maybe a hand wrote to typed app?

 
+6

Answer by  nickbenuska (6)

I dont think it will be prefixed with an "i"...I see it going more to MacSlate, MacTab, MacPad; mainly to be more inline with their Mac Comupters (e.g. MacBook, MacBookPro, MacMini, etc.)

 
+6

Answer by  Anonymous

It'll be MacBook :)

 
+6

Answer by  Anonymous

Honestly, I believe that the iPad would be a terrible name. Although pad can mean many things, when women think pad, it is a much different. WANNA SEE MY PAD? has a very different meaning. It sounds more like some futuristic period device.

 
+6

Answer by  shalom (271)

I'm going with iMac Tablet to follow the same method as the iPod Touch. The "Tablet" -- like the "Touch" -- is a subset of a larger category, namely, iMac and iPod, respectively.

Reply by calcutta (168):
Don't you think that a tablet is in its own category? It is substantially different than a laptop, and it is equally different from the iPod/iPhone lines.  add a comment
Reply by SriLanka (264):
@calcutta: totally agree... even if this has the same os as their laptops or uses the iPhone os, the size itself is a game changer. It is an iPhone that you can use for serious work including writing long emails and web browsing.  add a comment
 
+6

Answer by  altos (224)

As long as it comes out, I don't care much what they call it. I just want one!

Reply by udaipur (219):
I am excited about this too... I have been thinking about this ever since the iPod Touch... It is really great, but just too small to be very useful (especially on the web). But, I am probably going to wait until the 2nd generation of the device to be safe.  add a comment
 
+6

Answer by  benicio (257)

I think iTab is more likely than iPad, especially if Apple notices that most people think it's gonna be called the iTablet.

Reply by andaman (240):
I know that apple likes to have twists, but I don't think they would make such a major decision just to fake everyone out... I am sure they have long meetings about the naming of their products; and i'm sure the marketing department is heavily involved.  add a comment
 
+5

Answer by  Anonymous

applebook

 
+5

Answer by  jrmccracken (5)

how about iWrite?

 
+5

Answer by  Anonymous

It will be called "Mira"

 
+4

Answer by  lune (4)

I think no mentionned yet MacTouch and why not MacTouch Pro in the future

 
+4

Answer by  Anonymous

iScream

 
+4

Answer by  Anonymous

iWindow

 
+3

Answer by  Anonymous

Canvas Look at the invite, it seems to depict a painting. So "Canvas" or "iCanvas". jh toronto

 
+3

Answer by  whohunter (3)

Paint it green and call it a Pippin...

 
+3

Answer by  Ahmad (3)

iPod Touch Pro

 
+3

Answer by  Anonymous

don't like any of those names, so why would Steve? I would call it "iCan't Justify Buying One".

 
+2

Answer by  Anonymous

iCreate?

 
+2

Answer by  Anonymous

They will call it the Mac-azine cuz it's smaller than a macbook.

 
+2

Answer by  Anonymous

iSee

 
+2

Answer by  Anonymous

Einstein. The successor to Newton.

 
+2

Answer by  Anonymous

iSheet myself this morning... had to run home and change.

 
+2

Answer by  Anonymous

iAmNotNewton

 
+2

Answer by  Anonymous

iRonic?

 
+1

Answer by  Anonymous

ipoop

 
+1

Answer by  iSlate (1)

It's iSlate.

 
+1

Answer by  Anonymous

The MacTabby

 
+1

Answer by  Anonymous

iKite

 
+1

Answer by  lofye (1)

Macbooks are now aluminum, same as Macbook Pro. All will be re-branded to some other name: Mac for laptops, MacPro for towers? This leaves the words "MacBook" and "iBook" open for use by a new device, such as the rumoured tablet. From http://geek.derekmartin.ca

 
+1

Answer by  easif (38)

Apple has already released a tablet computing device. It's called the iPod touch, and because it's often overshadowed by its noisier sibling, the iPhone, we sometimes forget that it has already sold 15M+ units. After all, the iPod touch (with Safari, Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Maps, iTunes, iLife, MobileMe and the 65K application strong App Store baked into it.

posted by Anonymous
applebook  add a comment
 
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