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Intel To Rebrand Processors In 2008
DJ notes that TechARP has up a look at Intel's plans to rebrand their processors, including what must be a leaked internal chart of the old and new landscape of product names. This story doesn't seem to have been picked up anywhere else yet. Quoting: "We just heard from an anonymous source that Intel will be rebranding their processors in 2008... These new brand names will come into effect on the first day of 2008. Intel hopes that these new brands will not only leverage the strong Core 2 brand but also make it less confusing for the consumer. At the moment, the Intel Centrino mobile platform has five different logos with brands like Centrino, Centrino Duo and Centrino Pro. Starting from January 1, 2008, Intel will consolidate the Centrino Duo and Centrino brands under the Intel Centrino brand, and rename the Centrino Pro as Intel Centrino with vPro Technology."
Didn't Intel just rebrand dropping "Pentium" and going with "Core"?
I just heard that the new names range from Confusium to Confusium Core 2 Gold Pro Deluxe 1800 Gamma.
Seriously, though, when has Intel ever simplified the brands to make things easier?
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So they're renaming Centrino to Centrino? That's awesome!
I'm getting Smurf flashbacks.
I can never remember if my MacBook has a dual core Core Duo 2 or if it's a duo core Core 2 Dou Dual II or a Coral Dualo Duex 2. :-\
-- haaz.
rename the Centrino Pro as Intel Centrino with vPro Technology
Much better....
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
For the love of god slashdot, for once be brave and do NOT under any circumstances RTFA. It never stops loading! There are cycling video ads in strips own the side and it uses that horrific ad-word shit. It was like a view into hell itself...
Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
Core re-branding such as "Hard-core" (for gamers), "Soft-core" (web browsing) and "Core-blimey" (for every other application)?
Take Nobody's Word For It.
I think that they're having legal problems with Apple on that one. Apple wants to trademark "Apple Core" for their OS kernel and since they do business with Intel now, they're in some negotiations.
That was pretty good! I pulled a business and legal argument out of my ass that sounds plausible! Get it - "Apple Core"! Funk in A, I need to market myself for some of those seven figure Fortune 500 consulting jobs! The above is the kind of horseshit that gets you in the door!
I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
A new manager has just arrived. He found the old product name confusing.
Unfortunately, they're confusing for a good reason: the product line is complex.
So, he'll impose a new set of names on it. He will think the new names are less confusing, because they make sense to him. And he says it will make things less confusing for customers, because he projects his own feeling onto his customers. And perhaps the new names really are a little less confusing.
But in reality it will make things more confusing, because of the name change.
The people who actually did understand the old names will be confused by the new ones, and the people who learn the new ones will be confused whenever they have to deal with legacy memos or documentation that uses the old ones, and everyone who is deeply involved in the products will have to carry around with a little wallet-sized conversion table around them with both sets of names on them.
Meanwhile, the average customer won't be aware of anything other than the processor brand (Intel) and the clock rate.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
In the 1990s I worked for a packaging design firm that had Intel as a client. The company's assignment was to design packaging and in-store displays for the latest Intel processor, the Pentium II, now with MMX. So Intel shipped us all the latest logos associated with the chip.
I don't know if you remember that logo, but it looked pretty much like this. Blue Intel logo, purple and black Pentium II logo down below, and an ugly little purple-red-yellow rainbow gradient thing in the corner that said "MMX."
So the designers did their designs, they conferred with Intel, final designs were agreed upon, and the designers delivered their comps to Intel. Somebody gets a call:
Intel: We're looking at the final designs and everything seems in order. Except the logo seems all messed up.
(Our designers didn't do anything to the logo, so far as we knew, so this was a little surprising.) Us: What's wrong?
Intel: Well, this doesn't really look like Pentium Purple, and this logo definitely is not Intel Blue.
Us: Ah. Well... yes, I see what you mean. Not to worry. This is pretty normal when dealing with four-color process. We'll have one of our production people on-site at the printer's to make sure it matches your sample as closely as possible.
Intel: As closely as possible doesn't cut it. I need this to be Intel Blue and this absolutely must be Pentium Purple. And now that you mention it, the rainbow gradient doesn't really look like it goes from Intel Red to Intel Purple to Intel Yellow, either. Did you get our Pantone swatches?
Us: Well, yes. But since this is a four-color job, you realize that you can't really get all those colors into the job. They don't all fit into the four-color gamut. We assumed that you wanted the closest approximation for each (and I think they match pretty well, but we can do better).
Intel: Not acceptable. We NEED this to be Intel Blue. This MUST be Pentium Purple.
Us: The only way to do that is to use custom spot colors. We'd have to run an additional pass through the printer for each color.
Intel: Then that's what you have to do.
Us: OK, so just to confirm. For every single piece of advertising we produce for you -- every box, every poster, every five-foot-high cardboard cutout, every display -- in addition to the four-color process for all the photographs and box art, you want us to run four additional spot colors. And you're willing to incur the additional charges that this entails. And this is just to print the Intel Pentium II logo, which on this box I have here is exactly 1.2cm tall on the lower righthand corner of the box.
Intel: That is correct. Spare no expense.
The lesson learned: Don't expect rational decisionmaking from the internal marketing department of a behemoth corporation.
Breakfast served all day!