“In our January 26, 2010 report titled ‘Operation Apple: What will they Call their Tablet?’ we pointed to the Canadian filing for ‘iSlate’ and noted that Slate Computing (USA) LLC had filed for an extension of their trademark until May 21, 2010,” Purcher reports. “We could now see in hindsight that the extension was quite the chess move on someone’s part – be it an individual or Apple’s own shell company attorneys. Was there a master plan all along to wrestle ‘iPad’ away from Fujitsu by using the ‘iSlate’ trademark in-hand as a persuasive tool? We may never know the answer to that question – but it sure sounds plausible.”
Purcher reports, “The iSlate trademark is noted as being filed under International Class 9. The list covers a host of unlikely product categories beyond the self evident ‘tablet computers’ listing. Would iSlate the ‘computer cable’ make any sense? No. How about iSlate the cool modem? Not on your life – but those are some of the choices noted… The only product beyond a tablet computer that would make any sense whatsoever would be that of a ‘notebook’ – and only because an Apple patent already illustrates such a combo-unit being on the drawing board.”
Full article, with Apple’s trademark filiing documents, here.
Apple surely had multiple names that were being considered.. iSlate probably happened to be one of them.. They are probably just dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s in the event of any issues with the iPad name..
MacBook Pro tablet!
Perhaps to keep that name away from HP, Dell or any of the other box makers.
because
Some people see things as they are ask, “Why?”
I get drunk and see things as they could be, and ask, “Why the Hell not?”
iSlate name is lame!
Perhaps iSlate was a backup plan B…now they can keep someone else from getting iSlate…smart move.
To stop anyone else using it – duh!
I’m far from being an expert on trademarks, but don’t you have to have a product to actually maintain the trademark name? If Dell was to produce and sell a tablet and name it the iSlate, dont they have a better case for being granted the trademark name than Apple? If they don’t, then what is to keep any of the computer makers from claiming every name in the dictionary vaguely related to electronics as a trademarked name?
A notebook sized tablet, of course!
HP (or Dell) already announced their tablet and are calling it “Slate”.
I suspect that a company is given time to use a name it has just copywrited (especially as it would be foolish to use it before doing so in most cases) otherwise a competitor could simply rename a product the following week and claim they should have it. It ties it up for a while which is helpful when Ballmer and his fellow goons are using the term so regularly. Thereafter they have a choice to us it or not by which time the iPad is already well established.
When HP previewed their Slate in January, there was some talk that they picked the Slate name because they had heard that Apple’s soon to be previewed Tablet would be called iSlate.
Obviously, Apple changed the name at the last second or started the iSlate rumor to protect the secret iPad name.
Is late??
Heh. Heh. Heh.
This one I know.
Heh. Heh. Heh.
Maybe iSlate is the name of an app.
Say a drawing program?
The MacBook is pretty close to a “netbook”, barring the fact that it’s a “real computer” and costs twice what the PC crowd is asking for theirs. But then, it’s an Apple and they always cost more. And do more.
I don’t think they were planning on using it for the MacBook line and I don’t think they were planning on marketing an even smaller model to fit between the iPad and the MacBook. I’m going with the “bargaining chip” option … with “Plan B” as a fall-back.
An even better question than that would be, “Why does Apple own this website?”
http://www.mammals.org
Coud be a vertically focused iPad/software solution focused on the needs of K-12.
iSlate? Think chalkboard/whiteboard sized iPad
iSlate : an all everything remote…