[Iccy]

When I first heard the name, MacBook Pro, I was very surprised that Apple would change such a venerable name of Powerbook. Anyone else thought like this? Instead of MacBook Pro, maybe Apple should of named it Pro Macbook.

[pdrayton]

The name is ok with me.
From the marketing studies I've seen (work related) "Apple" and "Mac" are high on all recognition lists for computers... "PowerBook" just doesn't register very high, even for notebooks.

[maflynn]

I'm not a fan of MacBook Pro, its quite a mouthful, as with Pro Macbook. I suspect that there will be another flavor of Macbooks, the will replace the ibooks. It kind of makes sense beause MacBook is fine name stand alone, tack on Pro its a little awkward.
Mike

[d00d]

I wasn't happy with the change. I have yet to be satisfied by the explanations some have offered as to why the name had to change.

[pdrayton]

Frankly, I'm not even satisfied with my own explanations of why Apple might have done this.
The only thing Steve Jobs mentioned in his keynote regarding the name change was that "Mac is now part of the name". That leads me to think about where consumers encounter the name "Mac". I'm not seeing any ads on TV for Apple's notebooks or desktops... but iPod ads seem to be everwhere, and those ads all have an Apple logo plus "Mac + PC".
Perhaps consumers are currently seeing "Mac" on ads and making a connection with "Mac" and "computer". Customer awareness of branded product names counts for a lot, and when one name drops low enough on the consumer awareness charts it's not unheard of for that name to be expendable.
Just a thought. Don't really know for sure.

[d00d]

I guess my question is then though, were consumers really confused that Powerbook's weren't Macs?

[lkalliance]

We'd have to get data on a lot more broad sampling than what's represented here.

[jesman0]

LMAO, i came here to post a topic on this very same subject and its the first on the thread!!
I can't stand it. It's the worst name they coulda called it. mBook woulda been better than MacBook. Such a lack of eloquence.
My 2

[pdrayton]

In reply to:

---

I guess my question is then though, were consumers really confused that Powerbook's weren't Macs?

---

My hunch, which is totally unsubstantiated, is that a broad enough sampling of consumers were tested to see what were the the main notebook brand names that came to mind for them. From the very limited reports I've seen lately, conducted by an Apple competitor, "PowerBook" wasn't very high on a long list. "Mac", however, scored well not only when consumers were asked to name several computer brands, it also scored well when asked to name several notebook brands.
This isn't significant, though, because the questions to consumers are frequently re-asked in slightly different ways to see if the responses change. They frequently do change for brand names/product names that don't have depth and breadth of consumer awareness.
Apple, which has a track record over the past few years of making slam-dunks with products, also has the resources and desire to learn as much as it can about consumer behavior and those consumers' wants and needs. A very few companies (like Walmart... ugh) make it a core part of their business to know as much as possible about their customers and to know exactly why they buy what they buy. I think Apple is one of those few companies, too.
In the past I noticed Apple spending a lot of energy cultivating the already-converted. My own opinion of the "Think Different" campaign was that it stoked the egos of Mac owners beyond Apple's wildest expectations... yet offered no compelling reason to Windows users to switch. I mean, after all, being proficient in Windows means knowing how to think different... why switch to Mac and have to keep doing the one thing you no longer want to have to do? A company needs to make its current customers feel good, but going overboard distracts from opportunities to win new customers.
I don't believe that current PowerBook owners who are seeking a new notebook will switch to Windows because they don't like the name "MacBook Pro". I think they'll stick with Apple because, for them, it's primarily about the "Mac experience".
If Windows users have an idea that a Mac is an experience that would benefit them, then adopting the name MacBook Pro for a notebook line could help Windows users seeking a new notebook keep a Mac at the top of the list.
I, for one, am willing to live with a so-so name for the notebooks if it means increasing marketshare for Apple. Conventional wisdom says that if Mac marketshare grows then current users will benefit from new opportunities.

[Millenniumman]

I think it should have stayed PowerBook, but MacBook Pro isn't terrible. I don't like Pro MacBook as much.

[maya1000]

It feels a bit... nasal. Something like a woodpecker or a chipmunk, because of the C and the K. Powerbook flows off the tongue a lot better, but I don't mind MacBook that much.

[Paul_Aris]

Is POWER PC an old IBM Risc thing? They are done with that now hence the name change.

[pdrayton]

If you say MacBook quickly with your teeth held together you'll sound sorta like the duck saying "AFLAC!".
Oh my, I think I need a martini /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

[iDaver]

Sounds like bookkeeping software.