Hacker News Reader

Comment by oneeyedpigeon | Hacker News Reader

Admittedly, if you're the type of person who purely bases their purchasing decisions on the trailing number in a product name and whether it's bigger or smaller than that of an alternative, yes, this would be confusing. However, if you take other factors into account (price, weight, size, looks, maybe even - gasp - technical specifications) then it becomes a fair bit easier to determine which is the most current and advanced.

View on HN

The article was about how great Apple names things and how bad everyone else does. My point is that Apple's names aren't some brilliant miracle of nomenclature like the article makes them out to be.

Obviously if I'm going to drop $500+ I'm going to kick the tires and take the product for a spin around the block to see how it feels (and maybe even read its specs).

I think what Apple does do well, and which the article points out, is that they limit their offerings to a number I can count on one hand, the differences between each being obvious tradeoffs (e.g., performance vs. portability) which consumers can actually decide between. This empowers consumers, makes them feel good because they understand what's happening, and likely leads to increased sales.

The size, weight, and looks of the iPad have not changed dramatically since it's introduction which leaves consumers with the "trailing numbers" and gasp technical specs to differentiate each model. And we know how well "average" users can parse and compare technical specs.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com