Save The Netbooks
Not netbooks exactly, but the term we use to call them. Psion, a company that put out a device back in the early part of the millenium bearing that name, has registered the trademark on that name a few years ago. Now they’ve started making moves to protect its trademark a few months ago. In fact, this month Google agreed that Psion has a valid claim to the trademark and started banning advertisers from using the term.
Now there’s a campaign to protect the name “netbook” from oblivion. Save the Netbooks features a countown (to doom?) till the deadline Psion has set when companies, bloggers, and journalists profiting off of the netbook name to start using a different term. This will be until the end of March.
What do you think? I like the term netbooks, but it sort of limits what netbooks can do; but there isn’t really a term that has the same ring as “netbooks.”
February 17th, 2009 at 11:47 am
Thanks for another insightful post (this time about us!), and for spreading the word.
The term “netbook” (Internet + Notebook) has survived a darwinian-style elimination process over the last few years and nothing really compares. It fits well with “nettop” (Internet + Desktop) as well and other Internet portmanteaus like Netizen (Internet + Citizen). All in all it’s clean, concise and clear. And best of all it’s ours, not theirs, or at least it will be very soon.
If you’re searching for a term for a more capable machine, try “notebook”
but if you’re looking for something *small* and capable then you’ll be wanting to use “subnotebook” or (as Psion suggest) “ultra-portable”.
Anyway come see the site for yourself and get involved if you can. Our first mission is to have the Google AdWords ban reversed.
February 18th, 2009 at 2:29 am
“Minicoms” , “Microbooks”, “Webbooks”, “Minitops” there’s a slew of names you could use instead.
In fact here’s everyone’s chance to make a million bucks coining ‘the’ name of everyone’s new favorite toy. Don’t get even, get creative!
April 21st, 2011 at 9:09 pm
U definitely put a new slant on a topic thats been written about for months. Great stuff, just great!