Former Apple Ad Man Says Apple Considered Calling the iPhone the 'TriPod', 'TelePod', 'Mobi', or 'iPad'

[MacRumors]

Former Apple advertising lead Ken Segall was at an event for the University of Arizona's Department of Marketing tonight and in giving the latest version of his "Insanely Simple" talk revealed some of the names Apple considered for its smartphone before settling on "iPhone", reports 9to5Mac.

The proposed names included "TelePod," "Mobi," "TriPod" and "iPad." Segall also presented the name "MicroMac" to his audience, but insisted that it was not under consideration and that he wanted to gauge their thoughts on the name. In past versions of the talk, Segall has presented "PocketMac" as the outlier option that was not actually considered.

Segall went on to explain the thought process of the names:

- TelePod: Segall said Apple considered this name because it sounded like a "futuristic twist" on the word "telephone." The "Pod" part obviously came about from the success of the iPod.

- Mobi: This name was in consideration not only because it was a creative take on the word "mobile," but that it also had personality, Segall said.

- TriPod: When Steve Jobs revealed the iPhone, he famously referred to it as three devices in one: an iPod, an Internet device and a phone. This name likely had an impact on that presentation and represents the three "legs" that the iPhone was built on.

- iPad: This eventually became the name of Apple's tablet line, but Segall said it was under consideration for the company's smartphone product as well. Steve Jobs did confirm that Apple had been working on a tablet before it started working on a phone, and that the tablet had internally been codenamed "Safari Pad."

Of course, Apple eventually settled on the name "iPhone". At the time, Cisco actually held the U.S. trademark for iPhone for a line of VoIP handsets, but the two companies eventually reached a trademark agreement over the name.

Article Link: Former Apple Ad Man Says Apple Considered Calling the iPhone the 'TriPod', 'TelePod', 'Mobi', or 'iPad'

[SkippyThorson]

I couldn't imagine any other way; not without that instantly recognizable, iconic name.

Someone made the right call. The iPad name just wouldn't have been the same. Not only because iPhone was just right, but because it would have stolen the name from the yet-to-come tablet. What would it have been if it weren't iPad?

Always interesting hearing these backstories. Thanks MacRumors!

[GenesisST]

Hindsight...

Had it been called the "iBzlourged(tm)", that would be what everybody would want and know. That said, iPhone is still the best name out of that list.

[Blakjack]

That would have been a disaster!

[jhead95]

How silly they all sound now!

[the8thark]

Actually iPhone was the only good name.

iMac = internet Macintosh so the iPhone = internet Phone was a logical step to make for the phone's name.

Yes the i stands for internet.

[rei101]

But the screw it with something called "Mac Book Pro", what a complicated name, is like going off road on a jeep and trying to talk.

iPhone was good.

[Primejimbo]

Originally Posted by the8thark

Actually iPhone was the only good name.

iMac = internet Macintosh so the iPhone = internet Phone was a logical step to make for the phone's name.

Yes the i stands for internet.

I love how companies put "i" in front of stuff for their products and they have nothing to do with the internet.

iMattress... really??

[HarryKeogh]

Originally Posted by GenesisST

Hindsight...

Had it been called the "iBzlourged(tm)", that would be what everybody would want and know. That said, iPhone is still the best name out of that list.

Agreed.

If they called it the "Mobi" years ago and MacRumors put out a story stating that, at one point, Apple considered calling it the "iPhone" we'd be saying "thank goodness, they didn't pick that name!"

[ArtOfWarfare]

I seem to recall a time everyone here hated the names iPod and iPad, but we've come to love those names, have we not?

Although I think iPhone and iTV were names that always made sense and we always liked.

AppleTV is still a bit of a mouth full... I don't think they refer to any other product they have as an "Apple" anything, do they?

[shurcooL]

Notice how the word "phone" sounds way cooler today than "telephone". I'm surely that's largely to us being used to the iPhone.

Had it been named TelePod or something else, saying "phone" today might've sounded as lame as "telephone".

[johncrab]

Kirk to Scotty......Kirk to Scotty...Come in Scotty.....Where are you Scotty.....

Oh yeah, the iPhone works. The S-T communicators seldom did.

[lucasfer899]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

I seem to recall a time everyone here hated the names iPod and iPad, but we've come to love those names, have we not?

Although I think iPhone and iTV were names that always made sense and we always liked.

AppleTV is still a bit of a mouth full... I don't think they refer to any other product they have as an "Apple" anything, do they?

Well, there was "Apple Cinema Display" but that product is kinda dead now.

Actually, found this!

[gnasher729]

What exactly does "Apple considered" mean? Names that were written down during a brainstorming session? And clearly all these are names that Apple considered not good enough.

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

I seem to recall a time everyone here hated the names iPod and iPad, but we've come to love those names, have we not?

I don't think anyone hated them. There were quite a lot of people with a mental age of at most 10 who _loved_ the name iPad, just for the wrong reason :-)

[Batavian]

I think we are all moving towards the "Tri-corder".

Beam me up Scotty!

[bedifferent]

Could have sworn Jobs also suggested "Magic Phone", although that could very well have been a joke.

I still liked "iMobile".

[verniesgarden]

Originally Posted by rei101

But the screw it with something called "Mac Book Pro", what a complicated name, is like going off road on a jeep and trying to talk.

iPhone was good.

What's funny is that apple uses a very "news speak" naming convention for products, especially interesting due to the 1984 commercial.

[Adam Betts]

Originally Posted by the8thark

iMac = internet Macintosh so the iPhone = internet Phone was a logical step to make for the phone's name.

Yes the i stands for internet.

It's not just internet. From Steve Jobs:

[dBeats]

Originally Posted by Batavian

I think we are all moving towards the "Tri-corder".

Beam me up Scotty!

I was going to post that I think they missed why they considered triPod. Steve Jobs once famously said, "Just give me Star Trek" and I'm pretty sure the triPod reference was to the tricorder, not that it was three in one device.

[Schmitty11]

Originally Posted by the8thark

Actually iPhone was the only good name.

iMac = internet Macintosh so the iPhone = internet Phone was a logical step to make for the phone's name.

Yes the i stands for internet.

What about the Original iPods? Before the Touch and iphone and what not?

[BvizioN]

Originally Posted by Adam Betts

It's not just internet. From Steve Jobs:

True. Early iPods had no internet. Nor does the current iPod shuffle.

[baryon]

This shows how damn important it is to name your product right. iPhone just makes complete sense, and everything you need to know is in the name: it's made by Apple and it's a phone.

vs. something meaningless like "Galaxy S III", which might as well be the name for a space telescope.

[Mike MA]

Originally Posted by Blakjack

That would have been a disaster!

Regarding the fact how product naming influences the design philosophy as explained by Sir Ive I don't really want to imagine how a Mobi would have looked like.

[sitsonthefence]

Originally Posted by shurcooL

Notice how the word "phone" sounds way cooler today than "telephone". I'm surely that's largely to us being used to the iPhone.

Had it been named TelePod or something else, saying "phone" today might've sounded as lame as "telephone".

I'm sure I called the phone a phone long before the iPhone? Wasn't it just cooler to shorten everything?

[Solomani]

Doesn't everyone remember the first day the original iPad was officially announced, and the entire Apple-hating media pundits said that iPad was the worst possible name, and then all the Maxipad and tampon jokes started going viral?