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By Root 472 0

artists and designers in the graphics department are often the first to learn new product details, after the executive team. The graphics department, for example, was one of the first groups inside Apple to learn the iPod’s name, so that it could begin work on the packaging. The other groups working on the iPod—including the hardware and the software teams—knew the device only by its code name, Dulcimer. Even within the graphics department, information was strictly rationed. The department has about one hundred staff, but only a small subset—about twenty or thirty people—knew of the iPod’s existence at all, let alone all of its details. The rest of the department found out about the iPod when Jobs unveiled it publicly to the press in October 2001.

During the process of finding a name, Jobs settled on the player’s tag line: “1,000 songs in your pocket.” This descriptive tag line freed up the name from having to be explanatory; it didn’t have to reference music or songs. While describing the player, Jobs constantly referred to Apple’s digital hub strategy: the Mac is a hub, or central connection point, for a host of gadgets, which prompted Chieco to start thinking about hubs—objects to which other things connect.

The ultimate hub, Chieco figured, would be a spaceship. You could leave the spaceship in a smaller vessel, a pod, but you’d have to return to the mother ship to refuel and get food. Then Chieco was shown a prototype iPod, with its stark white plastic front. “As soon as I saw the white iPod, I thought 2001,” said Chieco. “‘Open the pod bay door, Hal!’”

Then it was just a matter of adding the “i” prefix, like the iMac. When Apple first started using the prefix in 1999 with the iMac, Apple said the “i” stood for “internet.” But the prefix is now used across such a wide range of products—from the iPhone to iMovie software—it no longer makes as much sense. Some have suggested that the “i” is the first person, denoting the personal nature of Apple’s products.

Chieco presented the name to Jobs along with several dozen alternatives written on index cards. He declined to mention any of the alternative names that were considered. As Jobs examined the index cards one by one, he sorted them into two piles: one for candidates; the other for rejects. The iPod card went into the reject pile. But at the end of the meeting, Jobs asked the four people present for their opinions. Chieco reached across the table and pulled the iPod card from the reject pile. “The way Steve had been explaining this, it made sense to me,” said Chieco. “It was the perfect analogy. It was very logical. Plus, it was a good name.” Jobs told Chieco he’d think about it.

After the meeting, Jobs began market-testing several alternative names on people inside and outside the company whom he trusted. “He was throwing out a whole lot of names,” said Chieco. “He had a lot. He started to ask around.” A few days later, Jobs informed Chieco that he’d made a decision in favor of iPod. He didn’t offer an explanation. He simply told Chieco, “I’ve been thinking about that name. I like it. It’s a good name.” A source at Apple, who asked not to be named (because he doesn’t want to be fired), confirmed Chieco’s story.

Athol Foden, a naming expert and president of Brighter Naming, of Mountain View, California, noted that Apple had already trademarked the iPod name on July 24, 2000, for an Internet kiosk, a project that never saw the light of day. Apple registered the iPod name for “a public internet kiosk enclosure containing computer equipment,” according to the filing.

Foden noted that the name “iPod” makes more sense for an Internet kiosk, which is a pod for a human, than a music player. “They discovered in their tool chest of registered names they had ‘iPod,’ ” he said. “If you think about the product, it doesn’t really fit. But it doesn’t matter. It’s short and sweet.”

Foden said the name is a stroke of genius: It is simple, memorable, and, crucially, doesn’t describe the device, so it can still be used as the technology evolves, even if the device’s function changes.