Does the name give us some clues to the longevity of the product?

[AQ_OC]

The prob with naming models by year is the marketing hiccup of selling a device named IPad 2012 in January, February or March 2013. Makes it a harder psychological sell for some people if the name is from last year.

Hmm...you know you're buying either used or an older model....Not sure what the psycho mumbo would be. Better to know ahead of time and be clear about what is happening than to find out later. I think we look for the lessor of evils here, not for perfection, because that doesn't exist. But we can have better than we have now.

 

[writerranger]

The only reason I'd want to avoid a generic name is the PITA of searching for accessories online. I had a between-generations iPod with bad naming, and searching for accessories was a time-consuming pain. That's especially the case if the model is no longer the latest.

I don't care if they name a device by a bunch of random characters, whatever, but make it usable for a search, for the love of tech.

This. ^^^^^ This post nails the biggest problem. Without some way of easily differentiating between products, searching and finding the correct case, etc. is a HUGE pain. The new iPad is thicker than iPad 2, which was thinner than the original, which was still thicker than iPad 3. With some of these cases, (the better ones), they are a perfect fit. Now, they need three different cases for the perfect fit. Just saying "iPad" may sound like wise marketing strategy, but the problem here is the above post.

 

[Kaykaykay]

The prob with naming models by year is the marketing hiccup of selling a device named IPad 2012 in January, February or March 2013. Makes it a harder psychological sell for some people if the name is from last year.

Hmm...you know you're buying either used or an older model....Not sure what the psycho mumbo would be. Better to know ahead of time and be clear about what is happening than to find out later. I think we look for the lessor of evils here, not for perfection, because that doesn't exist. But we can have better than we have now.

You might think that, but there are plenty of psychological tricks in sales.

 

[AQ_OC]

You might think that, but there are plenty of psychological tricks in sales.

Yes, you are indeed correct in that statement.

 

[Michael_Goff]

I thought they did the same with the iPod. I can't remember it slowing the sales of those down much. I doubt it will have a negative effect here, either.

 

[Skull One]

90 plus precent of Apples product line are listed with either a Generation or what time of the year. It has been this way for over 2 years. During that time frame they became the most valuable company in the world. Yeah, I don't see this as an issue at all.

 

[Kaykaykay]

They aren't naming models by year. Never have.

 

[Michael_Goff]

I imagine it will go by what generation it is, whether or not Apple says it.

 

[Skull One]

They aren't naming models by year. Never have.

So my iMac (2011) which was the successor to the iMac (2010) isn't named with a year like the iPod Nano (1st thru 6th Gen) is?

BTW, the refurbished store on Apple's website lists them by year

 

[Kaykaykay]

So my iMac (2011) which was the successor to the iMac (2010) isn't named with a year like the iPod Nano (1st thru 6th Gen) is?

BTW, the refurbished store on Apple's website lists them by year

The year is not part of the product's name.

 

[Skull One]

The year is not part of the product's name.

Your that statement caused me to go back thru the entire Apple store. The last time I went thru it was about three months ago when I was looking for a spare iMac i7 3.4Ghz made in 2011. Everything on the site back then had "(Gen X)" or "(early X)" or "(X)" after the product name.

Today however the ONLY product that has (Gen X) on it is the refurbished iPads. Not even the iPod Touches ,which went by the full generation name at Christmas is listed that way anymore. They only list product and the year it was made.

That is actually very good insight to the direction Apple is heading. I am glad we had this conversation.

 

[Kaykaykay]

Your that statement caused me to go back thru the entire Apple store. The last time I went thru it was about three months ago when I was looking for a spare iMac i7 3.4Ghz made in 2011. Everything on the site back then had "(Gen X)" or "(early X)" or "(X)" after the product name.

Today however the ONLY product that has (Gen X) on it is the refurbished iPads. Not even the iPod Touches ,which went by the full generation name at Christmas is listed that way anymore. They only list product and the year it was made.

That is actually very good insight to the direction Apple is heading. I am glad we had this conversation.

The prob is that Apple has been inconsistent, which creates other probs when users shop for accessories. That's why case descriptions are all over the map on retailer websites, for instance.

If Apple were consistent with naming -- whether by generation, year, number or whatever -- there would be no prob. For instance, if you need an accessory for a 1969 Ford Mustang, a 1970 Ford Mustang, etc., there's consistency.

 

[Skull One]

The prob is that Apple has been inconsistent, which creates other probs when users shop for accessories. That's why case descriptions are all over the map on retailer websites, for instance.

If Apple were consistent with naming -- whether by generation, year, number or whatever -- there would be no prob. For instance, if you need an accessory for a 1969 Ford Mustang, a 1970 Ford Mustang, etc., there's consistency.

Trust me, don't use a Ford Mustang as an example there are years where you have to use the VIN to get the right part.

But yes, I do see your point and I believe it to be very valid. Which is why I think this new direction they are taking, on the website, is interesting.

 

[Kaykaykay]

I don't know much about cars and picked the Mustang at random, but VINs are specific to each car, so I'm puzzled how you'd buy accessories by VIN. Maybe just a partial VIN, so at least they're from the same batch?

Would be good if Apple picked one consistent naming convention and stuck with it. It would help customers. When you look at case reviews for iPods, for example, you see lots of complaints of cases not fitting on arrival, because naming and model descriptions are all over the place.

 

[Seadog]

Try boats. You can have a 2012 boat, with a 2010 motor and 2011 drive. Drive manufacturers buy motors in bulk, then add the drive. Then they are shipped in batches to the boat manufacturers which will use them for 1-2 years or more until they run low.