Fantastic (and hilarious) post

I assoicate it with that term also. I had an older sister and a younger sister so I get it! I have also purchased too, but no big deal to me, but yes that was the first image I had too.

Also companies should start wising up woman spend .85 cents of every dollar in a household.

Companies let the woman take the lead in products and services bet you increase you marketshare, revenue, and profits! Just sayin....

iSack ?

I honestly think that saying "it's loaded (for women)" is untrue. When I first heard iPad my mind went to pirates (eye patch...I don't know. This is just how my mind works and I like pirates). I started watching my twitter feed to see what others were saying and nearly every guy on my feed said something about tampons/periods/female hygiene products. An hour after I started paying attention the first woman finally mentioned it. I don't think it's women having an issue. I think they chose a name (word) with stigma and it was a poor choice.

I think iPad was a sensical term.

Pad doesn't just associate with menstrual cycles, it also has other definitions:

- a number of sheets of paper fastened together along one edge
- the large floating leaf of an aquatic plant (as the water lily)
- a block of absorbent material saturated with ink; used to transfer ink evenly to a rubber stamp
- embroider: add details to
- a flat mass of soft material used for protection, stuffing, or comfort
- slog: walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud; "Mules plodded in a circle around a grindstone"
- launching pad: a platform from which rockets or space craft are launched
- line or stuff with soft material; "pad a bra"
- diggings: temporary living quarters
add padding to; "pad the seat of the chair"
- the fleshy cushion-like underside of an animal's foot or of a human's finger

Also, Apple has the "iPod", the iPad is a very similar moniker. Prior to the iPod's announcement, pod maybe represented a peapod, or something to do with outerspace. Apple owns the word now, the same way they will take and own 'pad' away from what most women associate it with currently.

I'm a little taken a back that Apple is expected to depict women using the device. One could say that there were no African Americans, Asians or Hispanics using the device, they were all Caucasians.

Speaking of misunderstanding digital talk... does it cross gender lines or is a phrase more tied to personal and environmental context?

"I tweeted" also kinda reminds me of something else... gas. Thats right, farting.

It seems like there is a new set of rules when in come to text communication. Even to the point of how brief yet descriptive we are allowed to be.

Apple has no women in its executive management team, and only one woman on its Board. This is no surprise.

First, I have to get this out of the way: I have owned two Ford Probes, seriously. And let's just say I got plenty of grief from friends and family for visiting the Probetalk.com online forums back in the day.

So for the name, my argument is that it was the only real choice for two reasons: brand equity and simplicity. Everyone knows the iPod. Calling it something that sounds really similar is a win, instant recognition. Apple = simplicity, and this is the most simple name.

This is the sort of crap that makes me *glad* I don't have more female counterparts in tech :( The exact sort of stuff thing that leads women to accidentally isolate themselves from the general group (and then unfairly blame the guys for being unfriendly, or obtuse, or unwelcoming).

You can't argue with the fact that women do indeed bring something different to a table full of men, but dear god, I hope it's not *this* sort of meaningless and superficial nonsense.

The word is PAD. Writing pad, telephone key pad, launch pad, landing pad. PAD. Not vagina, not ovaries, but PAD.

I'm not generally one for the scathing review, but yea. You're making us *all* look bad.

My guess is that Apple is trying to sort of redefine the word. When I see iPod I don't think about pods. I might have at first, like, WTF does pod have to do with a music player? But 100 million marketing dollars later, an iPod is an iPod.

So, given the fact that it is unlikely Apple will rename the product, I wonder if your opinion of the name will change over time?

I guess I should add, that I'd hate to see more companies have to go to the level of political correctness that becomes cartoonish such as Microsoft's attempt to leave no one out of their Windows 7 Launch Party videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cX4t5-YpHQ

I'm trying to make the gendered connection here, but it just falls short for me. If you go to Amazon electronics and search for "pad" here's a sampling of the results:

Computer Accessories: 28,575 results
Game Hardware: 78 results
Mice & Keyboards: 242 results
Memory Cards & External Storage: 3,520 results
Laptops: 4 results
PDAs, Handhelds & Accessories: 30 results

Personally I can't believe they couldn't come up with a better name, but "pad" is obviously already well-embedded into the computing lexicon.

So say we all. (Yes. Battlestar reference. 'Cause I'm a geek girl.)

You said "it does tell me that it's unlikely that any women were involved in the naming of this product."

To be honest, I would think most men would have picked up on that, too. At least married men. On the other hand, maybe married men are the target demographic, because we've been sent to the store to pick up pads before, so we are way past any embarrassment about it.

I'm pretty sure this is not the buzz Steve was hoping for!

Oh, man! I've been meaning to replace our comments on this site with something threaded and I wish I had it today!

@Heather
I love that iPad made you think of pirates. I have no idea why it makes you think of pirates, but that's hilarious.

@Kyle Meyer
Of course pad has many definitions, and in context they all make sense. I've been known to pad around the house in my slippers, look at a lily pad, invite people to hang out at my pad, and make fun of my sister for wearing a padded bra. But, if I were to say to another woman, "Do you have a pad?" not one of them would hand me a number of sheets of paper fastened together on one edge. On its own "pad" makes most women immediately think of a maxi-pad. Maybe with wings, kinda depends on the girl.

As far as being "expected" to depict women using the device, that's an interesting question. I agree that it's not desirable to get to a place where every commercial has to contain a token member of every gender and race. What's the happy medium between 100% white dudes and overly politically correct tokenism? I don't know.

I had never seen that Windows 7 commercial, but after I watched it I thought, "Really? It's 'cartoonish' for a mainstream software commercial to show two women and two men -- with one of the four actors being black?" I mean, the commercial is painfully awkward, but I think it's awfulness rests in the dialogue and terribly cartoonish acting.

@Michelle Rollins
Excellent point. I do think the brevity of communication raises lots of new and interesting problems around how we communicate. And next time you tweet, just say, "Excuse me." ;)

@Rett
The fact that you drove a Probe is just...awesome. I'm never gonna let you live that down. My new life's mission is find you a Ford Probe fanny pack.
I hear you on the simplicity front, but what about iTab? It's been hyped as a tablet for weeks, anyway.

@Leah
I fail to see how making observations and expressing my thoughts in a reasonable fashion makes you (or anyone else) look bad, but you're entitled to that opinion!

@Michael
I'm not sure if my opinion of the name will change over time, but it may not matter. Not liking the name doesn't make me want one any less! ;) I think you are correct that, over time, this product will likely redefine the word.

@Dakota Reese Brown
You're searching in electronics and I'm making a point about the word in general. If you go to amazon.com and search on pad, the number one result is a 72-count box of Always Ultra Thin Regular Pads (with Wings! w00t.).

@Kate Simmons
I'm a sucker for a good BSG reference. Thank you!

Point taken Meghan.

Should people with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) be upset with both sides of this conversation then?

@Meghan

Regarding the name 'iTab' I think it's too confusing for Apple's target audience for the iPad—regular folks (non-geeks). They don't know what a tablet computer is, let alone what the word 'tablet' being shortened to 'tab' would mean (I can see my Grandmother thinking it's some sort of new version of Tab soda).

Makes me wish Apple had never had an iBook before, because they probably would've jumped that one.

Great post. Have to ask though. Do you really think that having more women involved in the development and creation of tech products will do much other than give us tech that stops working for one week every month, gets moody and gives out about stuff that's not important? Maybe the Ipad isn't such a bad name after all.

One other thing that people are overlooking: if someone has a really strong Boston accent (think JFK), it will be impossible to tell if they're saying "iPad" or "iPod"

I agree. They should also stop releasing black-coloured products because those are offensive to african-americans.

Oh the funny, it never stops. Sigh.

I agree that it was poorly named. It really is a shame that they'd already used iBook because this essentially will be a competitor to the Kindle. Not sure how much more than that it can be, without a camera.

Twenty years ago I was in the thrust of editing my own college textbooks for sexist language and writing the first rape protocol for a domestic violence shelter. I am not insensitive. However, I believe that the flap over the word 'pad' or 'probe' is too much.

There is the PADD on Star Trek, notepad, hotpad, chair pad. Probes are sent out into space to reveal things about the universe.

Not having one woman in a promotional video? Yeah, that's bad.

MadTV beat Apple to the punch years ago: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/27/ipad-video-madtv-predicte_n_438880.html

I'm just sayin'.