The Tablet is Dead; Long Live the Pad

Stop calling them tablets.  Tablet is a failed word when it comes to computers in form factors similar to the iPad.  As we have pointed out at length, iPad was the right name (and who would argue with Apple when it comes to branding and marketing).  The industry should and will embrace the word "pad" and slowly tablet will become obsolete - if it isn't already.  Tablet is dead man walking.  Some history may put the debate in context.

According to the infallible Wikipedia, the first device in this form factor marketed in the United states used the word pad.

1989:  The first commercially available tablet-type portable computer was the GRiDPad from GRiD Systems

Then you see the name appear from IBM a few years later.

 1992:  GO Corporation shipped the PenPoint OS for general availability and IBM announced IBM 2125 pen computer (the first IBM model named "ThinkPad") in April.  

Of course, the design of the commercial versions of the IBM ThinkPad differed significantly from the prototype's keyboard-less tablet design.  The point is that the first tablet-like compters were named pads.  The name has fit since the form factor was created.  It still fits best today.  Tablet?  A failed movement that conjures up images of Bill Gates explaining year after year why tablets haven't broken through commercially.  Tablet is a terrible brand name and doesn't work that well to describe the form factor generally, in my opinion.

Apple doesn't appear on the pad computing scene until it begins selling MessagePads on the Newton platform in 1993.  Yes, the MessagePad was a PDA, but :

...although it ultimately became a PDA, its original concept (which called for a larger screen and greater sketching capabilities) resembled the hardware of a Tablet PC.

The word pad was the most obvious and most natural way to describe the device from the earliest days.  It still works best.  The word will become synonymous with tablet computers and eventually replace it in the consumer vernacular.  No consumer 'on the street' has ever desired a tablet pc.  They will need a pad computer.  That's Apple's magic.  Given Apple's near perfect user experience development, the word pad is sure to have strong appeal in the marketplace.  Competitors should understand this and continue to use the word - not shy away.  HP Slate?  Microsoft Slate Tablet?  To my ear, both sound cold and have nothing but negative connotations.  A pad is comfortable to hold in your hand and easily take on the go.  HP LifePad, Microsoft Padsoft, MicroPad or WinPad make so much more sense to me.  HP and Microsoft - you can have those names, no charge.  Why fight it?  Embrace it - Apple is giving you a gift here.

Apple didn't coin the word pad and Apple is just one maker of pad computers.  Not only that, Fujitsu has been marketing an iPad mobile tablet computer for years (and owns the trademark).  As opposed to the iPod, Apple is breaking no new branding ground with iPad.  It would have been silly and probably infringing on a trademark for Microsoft to call their MP3 player a ZunePod or MicroPod.  However, I can't see any reason they wouldn't call their pad computer a WinPad (a name that has ironically made the rounds in years past for both Microsoft and Apple's FingerWorks team, yet is not trademarked in the U.S. today).

Further, if there are 150k applications built for the iPhone, there will be 1M applications for the iPad in a year or two.  They will embrace the word pad as well.  Pad applications will be some of the most useful and creative software ever created.  And companies will make pad application versions for the iPad as well as all the other pad computers on the market.  If I built an app called PadBand, I wouldn't likely also brand it TabletBand or SlateBand.  The device isn't what will create the economy, it will be the apps.  The word pad will be everywhere.  Think about the pad possibilities with a device with such a large HD screen, yet still mobile:  mobile live video (get ready for padcasting), pad games, pad personals (mobile!), pad tag, mobile MMO's with pad computers out in the wild. 

Bottom line, embrace the word pad, people - it's coming.  I invite professional and amateur marketing gurus to comment below on the industry's use of the word pad vs. tablet vs. something else.

Bold Moves Call for Bold Predictions - Apple's Next Move

With Steve Jobs' announcement last week that Apple would use its $40B stockpile of cash not for stock buybacks or dividends, but instead for "big, bold" moves, it's time for the Jesus Tablet to make a big, bold prediction about what it might do with that cash.

To set the table, here is what Steve Jobs said:

"When we think about big, bold things, we know that if we needed to acquire something, a piece of the puzzle, to make something big and bold a reality, we could write a check for it," he said.

Conventional wisdom continued to question whether Apple would truly make a major acquisition with this cash. Again, from Reuters:

Hudson Square analyst Daniel Ernst said he thought Jobs' comments did not signal a change in strategy, and added Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook had said earlier in the week that the company had yet to see a large target that made strategic or financial sense. "I don't think they'd do a big acquisition. There simply isn't a business out there that would be a cultural fit with them. They're not like other companies," Ernst said.

He said Jobs was likely trying to explain how valuable Apple's cash was strategically, as it provides the company with the security to take chances with its products.  Apple's more recent acquisitions include: semiconductor firm PA Semi, mobile ad company Quattro Wireless, and music subscription service Lala. All were relatively small deals

"Large M&A doesn't work with their business model," said Broadpoint Amtech analyst Brian Marshall.

Ok, so even when Steve Jobs tells people he wants to keep the powder dry so he can make a big move "one of these days", the experts don't believe him.  I'm not an expert, I'm not an Apple analyst.  I don't know anyone at Apple and have no inside information.  I don't even own a Mac.  I'm just an observer, usually fascinated and always impressed by Apple the company, and I'll take Steve Jobs at his word.  I don't think he would tell investors to essentially forget about taking the gain on a buyback or dividend, hint that a big move could happen, and not be considering some significant acquisition.

So here's my prediction.  It's an acquisition that was discussed years ago, and may actually have been close to happening, but it's something no one is talking about anymore - until now.  Apple will acquire Tivo.  You heard it here first.  Mark it down.

And yes, with a market cap approaching $2B as of this writing, acquiring Tivo would be a big, bold move.

For years, Steve Jobs has been calling Apple TV a "hobby".  As recently as last week, COO Tim Cook called Apple TV a hobby.   The digital TV / set top box market cannot remain a hobby to one the most powerful consumer electronics AND content distribution companies on the planet.  My take is that they have been taking a wait and see approach to see more clearly how the market is evolving.  And now the time is right to make their move, as they did with MP3 players and smart phones.  The digital recording landscape is becoming clearer and the time is right.

Here are several reasons it could happen in 2010 (with a new Apple Tivo device in 2011):

1)  The patents.  With their recent patent win, anyone that wants a Tivo-like device (read every household in America) that can record (while watching another show) and rewind live TV will have to go through Tivo to get it.  I'm not a patent expert but Dish Network has spent a lot of time and money trying to build work-arounds that save the device and don't infringe.  The courts keep telling them that they are still infringing and the penalties grow and grow.  It appears that Tivo has a strong hold on key patents in this area.  As Tivo Founder James Barton says, while companies may be able to engineer around the patents it won't be easy, with its 61 claims, the patent is "broad enough for people in the space, or those looking to enter, will have to look at it and talk to us."

2)  The culture.  Analyst Daniel Ernst says in the quote pulled above that "There simply isn't a business out there that would be a cultural fit with them. They're not like other companies".  While I think I understand what he means, I would turn this around.  If there is one company out there in the consumer electronics space that has truly created a cult following of early adopters, created buzz and delivered truly innovative and game-changing technology, it's Tivo.  While its following has dwindled, the aura of Tivo is still that of innovation and independence.  They were in the magic business, just like Apple.  The Tivo brand, for all its inability to break through as a business, is still incredibly valuable.  I can't speak to its internal corporate culture, but the culture surrounding people who embraced Tivo seems awfully similar to the post-Pod Apple community.  The people I know that jumped on Tivo early were fanatical about it and still have it today.  They are the same people that have iPhones and will get sore thumbs refreshing the Apple site March 12 to be the first ones to pre-order an iPad.  I think Tivo fits Apple, uniquely.


3)  It's the last piece of the puzzle.  Where do you go after music, computers and telecommunications?  If you are thinking bold and big, you must go TV (as I've pointed out in previous posts).  And Steve Jobs said (above) that "if we needed to acquire something, a piece of the puzzle, to make something big and bold a reality, we could write a check for it".  TV is the biggest missing piece of the Apple puzzle.  So if you want to make a big move in TV, your options are limited.  Even with Tivo Premier announced recently, which blurs the line between TV and Internet, Tivo just hasn't figured out how to make the business work.  They've shown as good as their technology is, they aren't pulling people away from cable and satellite.  They may be resigned to being an extremely profitable licensing entity, cashing in on the patents.  They are down, but with the patents and the brand name, they are not out.  The one company that could make a modified Tivo business model work is Apple.  People trust Apple.  People don't like the cable company, but they are easy and they already get their Internet from them.  It will take a company with the brand equity of Apple to get people comfortable turning their living room over to someone else.  Tivo can't.  Apple can.  People will turn themselves over to Apple and it will work in a big and bold way.


4)  Content.  Apple has proven to the be most ingenious deal maker when it comes to licensing content.  (Note Bill Gates now infamous email, "This time somehow he [Jobs] has applied his talents in getting a better Licensing deal than anyone else has gotten for music."   They can bring to bear those skills and relationships to morph the Tivo box into something that truly threatens the cable providers and will break the cable business model surrounding packaged content.  

5)  Apps.  Of course, by the time the Apple Tivo becomes a reality, the App economy will be in fever pitch and hundreds of thousands of apps will reveal the ultimate power of TV engagement.  Apps will continue to dominate the innovation in software for the next decade and apps for the web-TV (Apple Tivo integration of web and TV) may be its pinnacle.

6) It will be so easy to change their branding from Apple TV to Apple Tivo!   (And yes, the 2011 Apple Tivo is where the i- naming stops!)


Disclaimer.  The author has owned a small amount of Tivo stock for years.  He's downright giddy this week and may be getting carried away.

Tablet Inertia and Grades: Incomplete for iPad and C- for Drama

No celebs.  No "one more thing".  Not a lot of fireworks.  No real drama.

Given all the hype, our dream scenario turned out to be exactly that.  It appears that the marketing team at Apple wanted today to be about making tablets acceptable.  In fact, earlier this week we coined the term "tablet inertia", and identified it as the number one marketing challenge for Apple.

1. Overcome tablet inertia immediately. 
Apple needs to overcome a significant marketing challenge; what I call “tablet inertia”.  Two decades of failed attempts to create a mainstream commercial category for tablets has cast a pall over the entire idea of tablet computing.

We get that, but it is disappointing.  Elements of the device dazzle (screen resolution for example), but Apple decided to take the slow road.  Today was more about evolution than revolution.  Could Apple have included a video camera and phone?  Of course.  But they chose to keep today simpler and begin to cultivate the market first, just as video came to iPod later.

In the same post, we explained - exactly as Jobs did today - why Apple can succeed now:

They will succeed with the tablet now because the technology they have is proven and they (and they alone) have enough stored brand equity from iPod and iPhone that the masses will listen and will think differently about a tablet-like device.   What is an iPhone if not a small tablet computer?  People get it.  Apple primed the market with iPhone, proving the mass appeal of the technology while overcoming the biggest problem plaguing tablet pc acceptance – the UI.

 Apple will sell the iPad to their core consumers and true believers, then launch version 'next' when they've worked out the kinks in design, development, distribution and pricing.  Once these things are flawless, they can annonce video, phone, streaming tv and whatever wish list develops from the masses.  And when they do we will see a true ground-up revolution (rather than a hasty coup).  And hopefully it will be accompanied by an event with drama and theatrics befitting a revolution!

Weeks ago you were convinced tablets were strange little things and not for you.  After today you'll either be buying one, thinking about buying one, or bitching about what feature it will need for you to buy one.  It's not everything we were all hoping for, but I guess it's a start.  (But I still can't believe you can't make a video call or multi-task on a screen that size!)

What's in a Name - Ipad and Enero 6 Corp

Yes, we called it - iPad it is.  (Quickly pats himself on the back and gets back to work...)  And thanks to everyone who voted in our tablet naming poll - over 1600 votes! And because we have smart readers, iPad won in a landslide with 45% of the vote.

As you recall, the Jesus Tablet was the first to report that Apple had trademarked the iPad name, and that it will be in talks with Fujitsu (who had previously filed for the name) and the US Patent and Trademark office over who owns the name.  We are sure it won't slow Apple down and it will get settled quickly.

The domain name iPad.com is another story however.  As we reported, it belongs to a company called Enero 6, and you can bet they are getting loads of traffic today.  Our guess is that they are in talks with Apple over acquiring the domain name.  Either that or they are in an office with their lawyer today trying to figure out how to protect themselves from the coming onslaught of Apple's team of attorneys.

Further research reveals that the domain name did not actually change hands last year, but was placed into the name of a newly formed company called Enero 6 based in New York.  The company's administrative contact listed in the whois database, is the same as the previous individual owner of the domain, and is the name of the sole owner of Enero 6 Corp.

For goodwill or just good public relations, we like the fact that today, the person behind Enero 6 placed links to cancer charities on the bottom of the homepage.  Whatever the reason, we like the sentiment and hope it does some good.

Did Enero 6 just win the lottery, or are they asking for big time trouble?

It's Showtime!

Can Apple live up to the hype?  Can the device change the way we interact with media?  Which platform will be change the most (books, magaizines, tv, movies...)? 

We are minutes away from finding out!

Is some other guy giving a speech today somewhere on the East Coast? 

Steve Jobs Throws Terry McGraw a Bone

McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw blew the cover off the iPad story revealing on CNBC that Apple will announce a tablet device and it will have e-reader capability (surprise)!

We'll put our money on the fact that what really happened is that Steve Jobs did Terry McGraw a solid.  The iPad as a textbook reader will be a nice, niche feature.  However, when it comes to the announcement tomorrow, you aren't likely to hear much about textbooks.  You may hear a lot about magazine and music publishers, tv/movie capabilities, and hear from other mainstream media publishers. 

Our guess is that this is Apple's way of acknowledging someone who represents an important partner, but someone who will not be a focal point of the most written about product launch ever (someone look that up for me).  So they give him some great publicity today and throw the blogs and media off the scent in the last 24 hours (when most leaks happen).  Nothing more.

How Will Jobs the Showman Unveil the iPad? Our Vision...

Steve Jobs’ may be shaman to many, but its his showman side that sets him apart from many successful CEOs.  He knows how to command a room, inspire a crowd and milk the drama out of a presentation.  He relishes it.  He sells it.  Pulling the MacBook Air out of an inter-office envelope.  Whipping the iPod out of his jeans pocket.  Great stuff!

The brilliant unveiling of the iPod nano… “You ever wonder what this pocket is for?”  (Skip to 1:47) 

So, how will Steve Jobs first show us the iPad?  Won’t fit in his pocket.  He’ll want to differentiate it from a laptop, and even from our preconceived notion of tablets.  Let me be the first to venture a guess. 

The curtain opens on Steve Jobs in a living room setting.  Podium to the side, the projection screen where a big screen TV would be in your living room.  There's a couch and chair, a coffee table, and an end table.  On the coffee table would be some magazines, a book.  And on the end table, close by but not at all the center of attention, is a small lamp and a frame about 10 inches tall showing a picture of Steve with his wife and four kids.  As the presentation begins, he sets the context slide after slide: size of market, why pad-like devices have failed, ‘imagine what you could do with a portable pad computer if you had one that really worked’, the apps that could be possible, why Apple can uniquely make it work.  Anticipation builds, there are murmurs as Jobs walks over to the end table and picks up the frame.  When he picks it up and looks at it, it says ‘Good morning, Steve’ and the screen displays icons for web, phone, tv, books, magazines, movies on the projection screen.  Booom!  Then the thing rings!  And with a touch of the screen Jobs answers.  Michael Scott appears full screen and gives Jobs tips on how to improve the presentation!  Jobs thanks him and hangs up as the standing and jumping crowd cheers!  He sets the device back down on the stand/dock and it goes back to a picture of the family vacation.

What did you expect us to say, he walks out on water?!  How do you see it going down?

Will iPad Avenge Both Newton and Apple TV?

When it comes to Apple, product and marketing are like that effortlessly perfect married couple you secretly envy. They make a grand entrance at the party and they glide through the room with confidence and style, yet somehow remain totally approachable.  And even though you really didn’t want to like them (you’d kind of rather be the one that finds the flaw that brings them down a notch), you do like them.  Not only that, but the next day you are telling your equally skeptical friends about how neat the couple really is; “you should get to know them”.

Apple’s frenzy-inducing launches and saturation marketing are usually backed with equally innovative and satisfying products.  Like the married couple (or LeBron James, Tiger Woods) Apple somehow lives up to the hype when it’s show time.  It may take awhile to work out the kinks (supply, pricing, etc.) but eventually the products become category kings, if not killers.  While there have been notable commercial failures (Newton, Apple TV), Apple’s track record speaks for itself.

So assuming the product delivers on many of the expectations, what does Apple need to do on the marketing front to break through the noise and hype (along with a couple predictions):

1. Overcome tablet inertia immediately.  

Apple needs to overcome a significant marketing challenge; what I call “tablet inertia”.  Two decades of failed attempts to create a mainstream commercial category for tablets has cast a pall over the entire idea of tablet computing.

When I think tablet, two images come to mind:  a) a guy in an dusty warehouse taking inventory and b) Bill Gates on stage in full geek mode trumpeting tablet PCs as the wave of the future (feel free to substitute any number of others gurus making the same claim).

Quickly and decisively, Apple must cut through the years of inertia, and they should start by avoiding even using the word “tablet” during the announcement.  Just stay away.

They will succeed with the tablet now because the technology they have is proven and they (and they alone) have enough stored brand equity from iPod and iPhone that the masses will listen and will think differently about a tablet-like device.   What is an iPhone if not a small tablet computer?  People get it.  Apple primed the market with iPhone, proving the mass appeal of the technology while overcoming the biggest problem plaguing tablet pc acceptance – the UI.  They largely solved that with iPhone, and the iPad will expand on the interface in ways that we probably can’t imagine.  And because it’s Apple, it will work and we will embrace it.

Legions of developers and fans will create a new Pad Economy which will bring about a renaissance in mobile computing.  In fact, they will generate a new form of inertia because once a body at rest is launched forward – to paraphrase, “an iPad in motion will remain in motion until acted upon by an outside force”.  And they will be operating in a vacuum for awhile.

2.  Launch a Killer App (or two)

After positioning iPad as a new form of mobile computing device (not a tablet), they will need to demonstrate a killer app that will put it in context for people immediately.  The device will do everything from phone to music to maps, however it needs to immediately solve some real problem, preferably a new problem, in a way that is uniquely Apple (read simple and sexy with mass appeal).  Apple needs to focus on one or two really cool uses that people will be buzzing about.

Predictions:

I read two quotes attributed to Steve Jobs recently, that could provide clues as to the direction of those apps.

“This will be the most important think I’ve ever done.” (Referring to the iPad.)

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore." (Exlaining why he thinks Kindle will not ultimately succeed).  

Clearly, Jobs is not backing away from the hype, so he must feel that the iPad will be massively impactful and have mass appeal (not niche).  Apple likes to play in the largest playgrounds.  So, when considering the media and technology landscape, what’s bigger than what Apple has already conquered (music, traditional computing, and telecommunications)?  And put another way, if people don’t read, what do they do?  They watch television.  And movies.  At home.  And they surf the web and listen to music and (fill in the blank) while they watch them.

The web-TV integration revolution is in many ways the holy grail, and why wouldn’t the Jesus tablet deliver it?  In one swoop, Apple can avenge two of its biggest failures – Apple TV (iTV) and Newton (MessagePad).  With all the talk of saving print media (magazines and newspapers on iPad), I'm surprised people aren't really talking about game-changing television applications for the device.  And there are a lot of product/service categories covering this type of integration filed in the trademark for the name iPad.

The iPad could be an ideal platform for a kind of universal remote for your personal media experience.  Video chat on iPad with others watching the same show or game on TV, play music through your wireless speakers, while you surf the web in your living room.  Download music and videos on demand and play them on the iPad or on your 55 inch flatscreen, up to you.  See Snooki at the club on TV and be presented a link to buy the dress she's wearing on your iPad (ok, we’ll draw the line there).  Integration with a next generation Apple TV device as well as cable and satellite set top boxes, would give you ultimate control of your household media experience.  Movies, music, TV – all on demand, and the iPad is your mobile control panel.

Yes, there will be thousands of really cool apps that will do things we can only dream about now.  But to have the impact Jobs is referring to, without cannibalizing their other product lines, they need to figure out a new way to allow people to interact with their media and the web - and it seems the only place left is the living room, which is dominated for better or worse by the TV.  There have been lots of attempts to make the tv/web integration a reality, but my money is on Apple to perfect the experience the same way they perfected the mp3 player and the phone.  It’s the final frontier and I feel it coming.

Here are a couple additional predictions:

iGuide:  Software for the iPad that makes it a universal remote for all the world’s media (or at least yours).  Works with set top boxes and ties into Apple TV for full internet/TV experience, iTunes, movie downloads, app store, uh, and everything else.

iFrame:  A new drawing and painting software.  Turns the touch screen into a canvas.  Brush stylus creates lifelike strokes.  iFrame also turns iPad into an e-frame for photos and artwork (famous and user-generated), while the iPad charges on an easel dock on your coffee table.  This could be why the Apple invitation was designed the way it was with paint splotches.  Side note:  why would Eli Wilner, a renowned frame maker for the White House, file a trademark the name iFrame in December 2009 covering software for a mobile phone and handheld computer?  Seems fishy.

The iPad will be the World's First 'Companion Computer'

If the core rumors are true, when Apple introduces their new iPad device Wednesday, they will revolutionize the tablet category.  In fact, they will so change the way we think about tablet-like computers that they will actually create a new category (tablet just won't seem sufficient).  We won't think of the iPad as a tablet, but more of a ‘companion computer'.   It will always be there; always on and ready to engage with you.  It will be powerful enough to do just about anything in most of the biggest consumer electronic categories.  And to take it a step further, it will truly know you.  If it sounds a lot like a Jesus tablet, that's because that is exactly what iPad will be:  omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient.  This is not sacrilege, merely metaphor.  Here's how it could change everything:

Omnipresent (always there, all the time).  In the living room, kitchen, in bed, on the train, in the car.  It will always be connected and ready to engage.  It will be big enough to be useful when a smart phone frustrates, and will be small and lightweight enough, with enough battery life, to deliver conveniently where and when a laptop cannot.

Omnipotent (all powerful).  Phone, e-reader, computer, TV, GPS, gaming, painting, fill-in-the-blank.  It’s a computer with a 10 inch HD touch screen, so it will do all these things eventually.  While it may cannibalize some product categories around the periphery, it will not necessarily replace any of these dedicated devices en masse.  It can't replace a pocket cell phone or a 55 inch LED TV, or even a Wii.  (Netbooks may be the exception).  However, the mere fact that it can do all these things in a mobile form, gives it a level of versatility that will make it indispensable.  But what really differentiates iPad and will make it a category creator and killer simultaneously, is not the hardware but the software - and specifically, the apps.  It will have thousands of mind-blowing apps that keep it constantly evolving, surprising and ever-so-sexy.  The app universe has proven capable of filling every imaginable void and this new canvas will deliver developers something truly game-changing.  (That being said, the iPad will need at least one killer app when it launches, and I’ll take a stab at what that might be in a later post.)

Omniscient (all knowing).  We believe much of the initial marketing and apps will be geared toward home use, and if the price is in the $600 range, plus service plan, as we anticipate, the iPad will be shared and passed around the family.  On the couch, checking email or game stats.  In the kitchen looking up recipes while watching Desparate Housewives on demand.  The device will know who you are, get to know your personality, and will present itself differently to you than it does to your spouse or kid.  It will identify you and respond to you individually in really cool and unique ways.  Not just give you access to your personally stored media and files, but adjust security settings on the fly, recommend apps, songs and TV shows based on what it learns about you, tell you which friends are nearby, send you coupons for nearby stores you may like on the fly, and much more.

Just like friends and pets, iPad will know you and you will have a totally unique experience with it.  It may even talk to you.  It will be a companion.

The iPod was ominpresent, the iPhone was omnipotent ("there's an app for that"), but adding the third element - and hitting the trifecta - will define the iPad revolution.  In true Apple style, it will be a device we didn't know we needed, but can't believe we got along without.  When the house is on fire, we'll grab the dog and the iPad.

Yes, the iPad has house-fire potential.

Company Possibly Linked to Apple Files for iPad Trademark in U.S.

The Jesus Tablet was first was first to report that Apple had filed for an extension to oppose the Fujitsu trademark for "iPad".  We now have discovered that Apple may be moving ahead anyway.

IP Application Development LLC, a company that has filed patents internationally for the "iPad" mark, has now filed an application to trademark “iPad” in the United States as well. The application is dated January 16, and appears to have been posted to the US Patent and Trademark Office website today.

The application was filed under Filing Basis 1(b) and 44(d).  According to the USPTO website, Filing Basis 1(b) refers to the "bona fide intention to use a mark in commerce" and 44(b) refers to the "claim of priority, based on an earlier-filed foreign application."  Looks like last week's international filings were not only geared toward protecting the mark abroad, but were aimed at giving their U.S. filing a boost under 44(b).

The trademark application covers hundreds of goods and services including:  computers, books, games, and telecommunications.  Interestingly, one service being applied for “enables users to program the scheduling of audio, video, text and other multimedia content, including music, concerts, videos, radio, television, news, sports, games, cultural events, and entertainment-related programs as they will be aired”.

If IP Application Development LLC is not an Apple dummy company, they have a lot of similar thoughts about how an "iPad" computer might be used.

The Jesus Tablet continues to be convinced the revolutionary Apple tablet will be called the iPad, especially with the "bona fide intention to use the mark" associated with this filing.  For the record, we like Apple Canvas too, but don't think it's in the cards; and we just aren't big fans of  iSlate/Slate, Tablet/iTablet, iBook and iNewt.

With the timing of this application so close to the big announcement (they almost snuck it in!), is there still room for doubt that it will be called iPad?  Could this be a last minute misdirection ploy by Apple?  Could another company be preemptively grabbing the name before Apple's announcement?  Let the commenting begin...

Here is the filing:

iPad Looks a Lot Like His Parents - iPhone and MessagePad

The final Newton handheld/tablet pc in the late '90s was called the MessagePad.   The MessagePad brand, while less widely remembered, carries the Newton heritage without the failure associated with the name Newton.  Even a company as confident as Apple will avoid the Newton brand, but they will embrace the history and innovation they brought to tablets over a decade ago.

When launching what amounts to a ‘Newton 2’ that takes the best of form and function from both MessagePad and iPhone, Apple will not venture far from its core.  The name will be iPad – the right blend of new (iPhone) and old (MessagePad).

In fact, as a courtesy to the good folks at Apple, I’ve taken the liberty of saving them a few bucks in PR costs by updating their 1997 press release announcing their newest version of MessagePad.  Fourteen years later and it's surprisingly easy to do!  Click on image for full view.

The Jesus Tablet's Real Name...Revealed?

As the world awaits the expected January 27th unveiling of Apple's much anticipated Jesus Tablet, one mystery may be solved...the name.

Not since Deep Throat brought down a presidency has a name been held in such high secrecy and been the subject of so much media speculation. We think we can put an end to all the hysteria surrounding the name. 

iSlate? iPad? iTablet?  Drumroll...and the winner is...iPad!

It has been reported that Fujitsu owns the trademark "iPad" and that would either prohibit or discourage Apple from using the mark.  What has not been reported is that Apple filed requests with the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) several times late last year to extend the time given to oppose the trademark with the USPTO. The USPTO granted the request and extended the time to oppose to 2/28/2010 "on behalf of potential opposer Apple Inc."

USPTO Online Files
 
The fact is that Apple has an interest in the iPad mark and is pursuing the matter with the USPTO and Fujitsu, the trademark applicant for iPad.  But why?

Apple could be pursuing this on the grounds that iPad is confusingly similar to Ipod, or because Apple has settled on iPad as the name of their new game-changing tablet device.  Given the timing of the filings in late 2009, we are convinced it is the latter (or a combination of both, but definitely the latter).

Of all the likely names bandied about, iPad seems the best.  When breaking new ground in a new product category, it is logical to maintain an association and relationship to one of the most successful consumer products of all time, the iPod.  In my opinion, iSlate is too cold and iTablet is too Microsoft for Apple.  Pad is clean, short, vague enough to evolve (think pod), warmer and almost retro, as in "check out my pad" or "grab a pad and pencil" (not "grab a tablet and stylus"!).

Looking forward to January 27 and the big unveil!

Apple's Tablet and the Mysterious Enero 6

Speculation surrounding the name of Apple's soon to be announced Jesus tablet has reached a fever pitch.  Since it was reported in December that Apple owned the iSlate.com domain, iSlate quickly became the leading candidate.

Just this week, MacRumors further reported that Apple has been busy trademarking the name iPad in Canada through a company called Slate Computing LLC, and around the world using other 'dummy' companies. (MacRumors also notes that Fujistu controls the trademark to iPad in the United States.)  So while Apple owns the iSlate.com domain, iPad.com is registered to a mysterious company called Enero 6 Corp.

Since Apple has a reputation for dropping clues as to upcoming product releases, we couldn't resist the chance to play along and speculate on why they would choose Enero 6 as the name of a dummy company to register the iPad domain.

Translating the Spanish Enero as January, we began to think about the significance of that date.  Could it be the expected launch date of the Jesus Tablet?  Well, the domain name iPad.com changed hands in April 2009 so we rather quickly disqualified this line of thinking knowing that Apple is too smart to commit to an announce, launch or release date so far in advance (even in such a clandestine way).  Apple likes to keep their options open.

So if they weren't looking forward to January 6, 2010, what about meaningful historic dates?  Steve Jobs birthdate, Newton's birthday (January 4, doh!), the storming of the Bastille...nope, nothing.

More recently however, just a few months before iPad.com was turned over to Enero 6 Corp., an event of some significance to Apple occurred.  January 6, 2009 was the last Macworld supported by Apple.  Not only that, but it followed by one day Steve Jobs' announcement January 5th, that he had a hormone imbalance that caused his noticeable weight loss throughout 2008 and answered lingering questions about his health.  In fact, the 2009 Macworld was the first in a decade with a keynote address not delivered by Steve Jobs.

Phil Schiller gave the keynote and there were just three significant new things announced:  iLife '09, iWork '09 (and iwork.com web service), and a 17" MacBook Pro.

So our theory goes like this:  Enero 6 represents January 6, 2009 which alludes to one (or both) of the following:

1. A new beginning for Apple related to Steve Jobs' illness (or tribute to Jobs directly)
   
2. Some revolutionary tablet feature tying the iPad into the products announced that day:  iWork and iLife

We know it's a stretch, but can you do better?!