Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple May Be Using 'Brightflash' Shell Company to Pursue iWatch Trademark Protection
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Didn't they call it's mobile computer the iPhone? Has this name indicated to people that the device was primary phone-like with some extra smart features?
That's a good point, but not exactly what i meant.
I thought of "watch-like device" as of its physical appereance not its features. If Apple calls it "iWatch" the name would be rather weird if the device is similar to the Fuelband or even like a slap bracelet. Maybe Apple does not intend to go in this direction (now or in the future) at all, then iWatch would be perfectly suitable of course..
shocked, disappointed..... It's just a name....
Of course it isn't "just a name." These things matter. They communicate what the product is about.
----------
When it was released, the iPhone was really just a phone, and it was designed to go head-to-head with a whole lot of other phones. The important distinction being that a watch is ancient, single-purpose tech, that a lot of people see as obsolete. Apple calling their a new wearable tech product a watch would not position it very well.
Personally I don't think it will look like the Fuel Band. This is really a new category product, more than iPhone (smartphone already existed for years when iPhone launched) so my guess it's they will start with a very high priced (thousands of dollars) niche and luxury product in order to avoid mass production issues, bad press and stock fall if the product don't sell enough (for the standards the market associates with Apple) and so that they can user test the product for the first year on some tens of thousands of buyers while still making profits. To appeal to those people I think this product will need a very classic elegant appearance. If you look at the hiring Apple has made for the development of this iWatch you can see that they comes from luxury brands or from health companies so I guess that could be intended for rich people that likes sport and care about their health. Obviously chances are I am totally wrong but in a way this seems exactly the product a person like Tim Cook would love to use.
----------
It's not like that. Jobs repeated the 3 devices in 1 mantra like crazy during the unveil "A phone, an internet device, a media player" or something like that. The messagge was that iPhone was smarter than the other smartphones not "just a phone".
How soon we forget. A "smart phone" at that point wasn't very smart. No apps, for one thing. All of that came later. Not that it wasn't part of the plan, but initially Apple was entering what was already at that time an established product category, the primary function of which was entirely relevant. The objective was to do the phone better than it had been done. The problem with this new product being called a "watch" is that hardly anyone is looking for a better watch. That's a much tougher sale. In terms of positioning, Apple would be far better off creating a new category of wearable tech that they can define and doesn't carry any historical baggage.
Or....It would do what Apple has done in every major product category it's entered in recent history, redefine the market rather than finding a place in it.
Do they? I think what a name communicates differs from person to person.
For me an iWatch could mean anything besides just being a watch. What the device can do at the end, what nobody knows at this moment, is what matters most i.m.h.o., at least more then a 'name'. Just a different viewpoint here.
This is definitely a plausible proposition. We all know that one of Apples corporate mantras is "secrecy." It's getting harder and harder to pull off but that won't keep them from trying.
I still think it would be really neat if Apple would actually develop a product out in the open and let the public actually contribute feedback during the process. After all...even with all this secrecy Apple's products have become terribly predictable. As soon as I heard the rumor about iPad in 2009 I already figured out what it would be....so obvious really. Basically a supersized iPhone with dimensions roughly the size of a regular size spiral bound notebook. I'm sure I'm not the only one who guessed right on that.
My point is that today the corporate tone of Apple is increasingly distant and arrogant. They feel they have to constantly remind the world how good they are and that they are better than everybody else. There might be some truth to this but it's just plain tacky and offensive....there is nothing classy about tooting your own horn all the time. Arrogance, pride and hubris are factors that indicate the glory days are over....they are character flaws...not assets.
Therefore, that's why I think a more humble, inclusive approach might be an edgy way for Apple to change things up, shake off their elitist, snobby "airs" and make a good connection with people again.
I still think it would be really neat if Apple would actually develop a product out in the open and let the public actually contribute feedback during the process. After all...even with all this secrecy Apple's products have become terribly predictable. As soon as I heard the rumor about iPad in 2009 I already figured out what it would be....so obvious really. Basically a supersized iPhone with dimensions roughly the size of a regular size spiral bound notebook. I'm sure I'm not the only one who guessed right on that.
My point is that today the corporate tone of Apple is increasingly distant and arrogant. They feel they have to constantly remind the world how good they are and that they are better than everybody else. There might be some truth to this but it's just plain tacky and offensive....there is nothing classy about tooting your own horn all the time. Arrogance, pride and hubris are factors that indicate the glory days are over....they are character flaws...not assets.
Therefore, that's why I think a more humble, inclusive approach might be an edgy way for Apple to change things up, shake off their elitist, snobby "airs" and make a good connection with people again.
NIIIICE detective work ...
Very NIIICE detective work !!!
I think everyone has the iWatch name ALL WRONG !
It is a TV !!
There will also be a watch component to the new APPLE big screen TV, that being the Nike wrist band.
It may also include a couple of rings ...
I saw a paper online from a conference in Hong Kong for human interface tech, which talked about the utility of a wrist band with two rings to CONTROL THE WORLD of computing!
APPLE gets all of its best design perks from HK, just like Disney did ...
I don't think the product will ship though until they figure out how to get rid of the rings, too much apparatus. They will use some kind of 3D scanning tech to watch and interface with user fingers.
It will allow you to sit on your couch and control the TV screen just like an iPAD accept better, CPT couch potato tech, the Minority Report interface but seated from a distance
Very NIIICE detective work !!!
I think everyone has the iWatch name ALL WRONG !
It is a TV !!
There will also be a watch component to the new APPLE big screen TV, that being the Nike wrist band.
It may also include a couple of rings ...
I saw a paper online from a conference in Hong Kong for human interface tech, which talked about the utility of a wrist band with two rings to CONTROL THE WORLD of computing!
APPLE gets all of its best design perks from HK, just like Disney did ...
I don't think the product will ship though until they figure out how to get rid of the rings, too much apparatus. They will use some kind of 3D scanning tech to watch and interface with user fingers.
It will allow you to sit on your couch and control the TV screen just like an iPAD accept better, CPT couch potato tech, the Minority Report interface but seated from a distance
Last edited:
iWatch, since that's the name registered by Brightflash.
Don't confuse the product with their shell company's name.
What about Carplay?
I think iWatch is a very catchy name that people can understand as an device that will be on your wrist as watches do but this time a device that also does more then just stating the time (the i...)
If it would be all about just telling you your heartbeat, and other health stats without any clock functionality in it then you would have a point. But then again, no ones knows what Apple will come up with exactly... I think it will be a mix, a mix where the device is also able to tell the time plus alarm you when several alarms goes off, that also has to do with time.
Ah well, time will tell.
Good point. I hope they end up executing your version of reality. I still personally think that wearable tech should really be more of an accessory to a larger ecosystem of connected devices. This is probably in the plans but their full vision will probably not be realized for a while if it turns out being a "control device" for an ecosystem that is still nascent....just like the original iPhone and subsequent revolution in web apps that followed.
Very NIIICE detective work !!!
I think everyone has the iWatch name ALL WRONG !
It is a TV !!
There will also be a watch component to the new APPLE big screen TV, that being the Nike wrist band.
It may also include a couple of rings ...
I saw a paper online from a conference in Hong Kong for human interface tech, which talked about the utility of a wrist band with two rings to CONTROL THE WORLD of computing!
APPLE gets all of its best design perks from HK, just like Disney did ...
I don't think the product will ship though until they figure out how to get rid of the rings, too much apparatus. They will use some kind of 3D scanning tech to watch and interface with user fingers.
It will allow you to sit on your couch and control the TV screen just like an iPAD accept better, CPT couch potato tech, the Minority Report interface but seated from a distance
MACchine I think you're on to something....I def see this as the future of iWatch but I'm not expecting Apple to reveal their whole "vision" when they launch the first version. Just like the iPhone which started off more as a kick ass smartphone...but revolutionized software and the internet with the unveiling of the App Store. I think this is part of their incremental, secret, slow-reveal strategy. iWatch will probably end up being the "first mover" and function as an "operating/control system" for the "internet of things." So Apple wants to sit back and basically be "Sauron" from the Lord of the Rings and forge "the one device to rule them all."
'The People' in charge of the political process? What fantasy world do you live in?
It isn't an either/or proposition. I think they better redefine the category by not associating themselves with a lot of undistinquished products that aren't exactly generating a lot of excitement.
----------
Of course the name isn't of primary importance, but the name either helps or hinders communication about the product. I don't see any benefit to Apple of calling their wearable tech a watch and a good bit of benefit from calling it something else.
----------
So to speak?
When you think on it, where did the iWatch name come from? The rumor mill. And the only reason that I can detect that this name stuck in rumor-land is because a lot of other manufacturers were trying to make a splash in the smart watch category. So that's what Apple is going to do? I don't think Apple works that way. I don't think they spent all this time simply to make a better smart watch than Pebble or Samsung. I expect them to be way more ambitious and imaginative than that.
Guys, you're wasting your time on a product name.
If Apple do deliver a stunning new product no matter what they call it ... the name will go down in history. They can even afford a new poke and call it "iGear" ...
I just want Apple to release new innovative products and stop resting on its laurels.
Companies like Apple are there to open new doors ... it not about making iPhone #28 ... Cook needs to steer highly talented people to roll out new products to continue the saga.
I don't carry a watch anymore because the time is on my iPhone so iReallyDontCareAboutAName as long as the iWatch makes me want to wear one again
If Apple do deliver a stunning new product no matter what they call it ... the name will go down in history. They can even afford a new poke and call it "iGear" ...
I just want Apple to release new innovative products and stop resting on its laurels.
Companies like Apple are there to open new doors ... it not about making iPhone #28 ... Cook needs to steer highly talented people to roll out new products to continue the saga.
I don't carry a watch anymore because the time is on my iPhone so iReallyDontCareAboutAName as long as the iWatch makes me want to wear one again
All the rumours seem to be pointing to a device which monitors your health and fitness. It's job is to "watch". That's what this product is (probably) about. I too hate the name, but it does fit.
I don't know, unless Apple plans to turn the name into a pun. That would be a little too cute, don't you think?
I like it. There's a ton of info out there if you know where to look, but most people simply don't have the time.
As I noted a couple of weeks ago in this post, that same Long Island watch accessory company (MZ Berger) filed for "iBand" as well.
They seem to be squatting on the name. By law, they have to come up with a product within a time limit (I believe six months), but they can extend that limit multiple times... effectively stretching their ownership to almost five years. By that time, either someone buys it from them, or they lose interest.