
Leave it to Apple to figure out a way to be controversial, if not original. The iPod sounds original to me. The last ‘pod’ I remember was ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’
How about ‘nano?’ Uh oh. Looks like trouble brewing in Appledom.
Why? What’s wrong with ‘nano?’ Doesn’t it mean, like, really, really small, or something? How small does a portable music player have to be before it becomes ‘nano small?’
Just a few weeks before Apple launched the replacement to the iPod mini, the diminutive iPod nano, competitor Creative launched their newest music player; the not-so-diminutive Creative Zen Nano Plus.
‘Creative’ is the company, now struggling financially to find new ways to lose money against the iPod train. ‘Zen’ is a brand name used on previous Creative music players.
‘Nano’ means small, so might be difficult to trademark, since it means small and all. Then Creative added ‘Plus’ to the already forgettable name than everyone now associates with iPod.
The ‘Plus’ probably means it has more features than iPod nano, but it could also be the ‘Plus’ in ‘Plus Size for Women.’ You know, the chunky, clunk plus size female variety.
Do you see a Creative lawsuit in Apple’s future? Yep. In 90 days, portable music fans everywhere will only think of ‘nano’ in terms of iPod nano. There’s nothing creative about that.
I found nine different music players on the Creative web site. Nine. All with different names. If you put out enough products with different names, you’re bound to win a lawsuit or two.
Trademark names are not the only source of potential problems for our favorite computer and music player maker. Creative patents could pose a problem, too.
How? Creative was just awarded a patent on the navigation screens of portable music players. U.S. Patent number 6,928,433 was awarded in August and filed in 2001, before Apple launched the iPod (with an eerily similar navigation interface).
Creative is so creative (and desperate) that they held a news conference to tout their new patent. The Creative web site divulges all the gory details when you Click Here.
What’s interesting about this patent and Creative’s efforts, is the slide show of images which show a Zen Micro (bigger and fatter than ‘nano’) screen; playlists, artists, genre, tracks, selection process.
That looks like an iPod screen to me. What do you think?
Apple does not seem to mind a good fist fight. That’s the way they’ve always been (except for the John Sculley years; ‘Why can’t we all just get along?’) and, as long as Jobs is around, it’ll probably stay that way.
For example, look at the company name—Apple. Founders Jobs and Wozniak named their company after the Beatles’ record company, Apple Corp. That brought about a series of lawsuits, all of which caused Apple the computer company to pay money to Apple the record company.
There’s a lawsuit going on now with Apple and Apple the record company.
Times have changed. While Microsoft is handing out hundreds of millions and billions and gazillions of dollars to settle lawsuits all over the globe (probably Saturn and Jupiter, too), Apple is ‘thinking different.’
How? They’re selling music using a name that’s already selling music. Apple. They’re naming their music products after products that are already playing music. Creative’s Nano Plus.
So far, Apple is not settling for second best, not settling for money, not settling for peace. Why? It’s a war out there. Survival of the fittest.
Apple has an $8-billion war chest of cash, 35-percent sales growth in Macs, 80-percent market share in online music sales, 80-percent market share in portable music players (now owning both the flash-based players, and hard-drive players).
What else does Apple have? An attitude. A quiet, mature, ‘don’t get too close or you’ll get poked’ attitude.
It’s refreshing, fun to watch, and makes for great news.
Go get ‘em, Apple.
Oh, one more thing. Who owns ‘nano?’ I will. Just as soon as I can get my hands on a black one.
Post your own Comment.
By Alexis Kayhill | I'm a 20 year Mac user veteran, writer, photographer, wife, and mommy. I live in sunny San Diego with my husband, three children, two dogs, one mean old cat, and an SUV with a back seat full of beach sand. Follow me on Twitter.
• Email This Article
• Follow Mac360 on Twitter
• Posted in the Commentary Section
• Dump Safari And Firefox. Flock To This Cool Browser
• How To Create Animation On A Mac Or PC
• Use Your Mac To Explore Files On Your iPhone
Off Topic Note: Help support Mac360. Order your copy of Mac OS X Snow Leopard from Mac360 through Amazon. Snow Leopard is $29 for the Single User Upgrade, and only $49 for the 5 User Family Pack Upgrade. For mini reviews of Mac software, check Ron’s NoodleMac site. Kate MacKenzie is back after a year of using Windows, and Ron has daily Mac musings on McSolo.
Mac360 posts daily Mac updates on Twitter, too. If you Twitter, give Alexis, Bambi, or Ron a tweet and follow Mac360 on Twitter to get daily Mac tips and tricks.
Copyright © 2004 - 2009 Ron McElfresh, Honolulu, HI USA. All Rights Reserved.
Mac360 is published by Ron McElfresh, Honolulu, HI and powered by ExpressionEngine at Pair Networks.
Mac360 pages are best viewed in Safari 4.x or Firefox 3.x browsers. Microsoft Internet Explorer is not supported.
This Mac360 page was created in 1.3214 seconds.