Hacker News Reader

Comment by bdr | Hacker News Reader

It's striking how they don't use an article before the word "iPad". For example, they say "reading on iPad" instead of "reading on the iPad". Are they trying to make it sound alive?

View on HN

I think it's because they want to think of it as a system, not "just" a device. You never use the definite article before an operating system, for example, or a piece of software. "Download music on iTunes", "manage your photos with Mac OS X", "read the morning news on iPad".

It does sound damn weird though.

"I watched the news on TV."

That could be what they're aiming for?

It's a signature linguistic quirk that Apple has used in hardware documentation as far back as I can recall. Anyone know when it dates to? It's got to be pretty old if it was used concurrently with the "Welcome to Macintosh" onscreen message in pre-OSX operating systems.

They do the same for iPhone and iPod.

I like how the link below the guided tours is "Watch the iPad video." That "the" must kill Steve.

That's because it's "the video", so also "the iPad video". When speaking proper Steve the noun iPad isn't used with an article, but that's the only exception.

So, "you watch a movie on iPad", but you "go to the store and buy an iPad". "iPad has over 50.000 applications", but "The iPad firmware is buggy". It's oddly consistent.

I doubt it, since the "the" in that is referring to the object "iPad video", not just the (hah!) iPad.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com