Opinion: A Palm by some name or other

Palm, the handheld computing guys, officially has a new name. Or another name.

Anyway, darn it, a different name.

It's palmOne.

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Palm, the handheld computing guys, officially has a new name. Or another name.

Anyway, darn it, a different name.

It's palmOne.

Although, actually, it's only part of Palm that has the new or another or different name. It's the part of Palm that builds hardware products, like the Tungsten and the Zire. The other Palm part, PalmSource, is the part that builds the operating system

Palm, Inc. is spinning off PalmSource later this fall, creating a separate software company. Then it will rename itself palmOne.

The name palmOne doesn't exactly leap off the page, although the lower-case 'p' "gives the word "palm" visual emphasis," according to the press release.

Apparently not enough emphasis because palmOne will be jazzed up with color: "deep red for the word "palm" and vibrant orange for "One," according to the press release. The red designates the color for the Tungsten handhelds, aimed at enterprise users, orange the Zire products, aimed at consumers.

Products will start bearing the new name in 2004, but if you can't wait to see the new name, you can visit http://www.palmOne.com, where you will might see, based on one laptop display at "Network World," the pairing of what looks like a reddish brown and a faded Halloween orange.

The new name was not chosen casually. No long weekend with a few sixpacks of beer and some pizzas for this self-described "bold departure."

There were interviews, and reflection, with a "broad range" of people: customers, partners and employees. And it didn't stop there. There were also "naming consultants and industry influencers." They all reflected on Palm's "essence," even though essence of Palm sounds like a shampoo additive.

"Our brand promise is so well understood by the marketplace that the concept of 'One' in our new name was immediately compelling," said Ken Wirt, Palm Solutions senior vice president and head of sales and marketing. "'One' is a powerful addition to the instant brand recognition and identity of the Palm name."

One guesses one had to be there.