Leading up to the launch of Apple’s infamous tablet, there was a lot of speculation surrounding what the name would be. Would it be iPad, in keeping with their successful branding approach? Would it be something entirely different and unrelated (like Kindle)?

Then the announcement was made, and sure enough the name is iPad – exactly what many were speculating.  All of a sudden now that the speculation was a reality, there was all this chatter in the blogosphere, the press - everywhere – about the name…poking fun at it, and at Apple. But it wasn’t a surprise, was it? Apple’s naming strategy has been pretty consistent – and powerful – so did people think they’d deviate from it for Steve Jobs’ pet product?!? Were they simply in denial? If they were expecting it, then why all the fuss and criticism?

I’m sure it’ll all settle down soon, and the iPad will be a success – or not – on its own merits vs. what people think about the name. Hopefully people will focus on what really matters – the product itself. But at the same time, I’m sure the branding people out there – like me – are asking themselves whether this might have been an appropriate time to deviate from Apple’s branding/naming strategy built around the “i”. I guess time will tell. What do you think?