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20 worst-named tech products, ever

by CNET  |  November 3, 2011 10:00am PDT  |  Image 1 of 20

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01worst.jpg

Qwikster

Companies agonize over what to name a product, and we certainly recognize how difficult a process it is to come up with a good name.

Over the years, we've seen lots of good ones; the Palm Pilot, the Motorola Razr, TiVo, the Flip cam, are just a few.

But today we're not here to celebrate success. No, let us to rejoice in failure and admire some of the truly bad--and, in some cases, truly awful--names that have come along in the last 10 years or so.

Here's the newest addition to the list. Netflix's sudden plan to split the company in two and change the name of its DVD delivery service to Qwikster didn't go over so well, and the company quickly nixed the name and put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

While it may be a little hard to separate the name from the ill-conceived launch, any way you slice it, Qwikster just feels off--and not in a good way.

In this gallery, we'll list the top 20 worst names as chosen by CNET editors - and identify the top 5 chosen by CNET's Brian Cooley.

Captions: David Carnoy CNET
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
Zappykins 6th Nov
Definitely Wii U and I would probably put Zune and Roku on that list even-thought I really like them.
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Wrong Photo
andy88488 3rd Nov
There's not photo for the Pentax *ist. It's a duplicate of the Samsung photo
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Editor
RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
andy7718 4th Nov
Whoops. Fixed. Thanks
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
PercySludge Updated - 5th Nov
@andy7718
No, it's NOT fixed. And don't blame my FF cache- I just browsed this article for the first time now.
It now shows a blow-up of the Samsung smiley prev picture.
See http://www.zdnet.com/photos/20-worst-named-tech-products-ever/6325974?seq=5
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
maceye Updated - 3rd Nov
Cuil (with an accent over the 'u', which this page is not letting me enter) is a Gaelic word meaning corner, nook, or niche. If spelled cuil (as above), it is short for cuileag (a Fly). A bit ironic, that: potential profits flew away because they couldn't carve out their niche.
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
xeptf4 3rd Nov
no iPad?!
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No iPad and no Wii?
bran.e.murray Updated - 3rd Nov
Come on, successful products can have horrible names, too. Incomplete list. iPad and Wii are far worse than many of the entries here. Both, after all, invoke immediate thoughts of certain bodily fluids.
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
Imrhien 3rd Nov
@bran.e.murray Agreed, and eeePCs are really popular!!!
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
joetaxpayer 3rd Nov
@bran.e.murray - I'm with you sir. iPad wins. I'd not even heard of most of the rest of the list here.
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The only reason iPad wins is because so many
baggins_z 4th Nov
modern Americans live with their brain in a gutter.
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
morrieg@... 3rd Nov
iPad has got to be on that list!
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And one internet rumor
jdaughtry@... 3rd Nov
About a hypothetical Apple product for children that never made it to market. Deemed a poor idea to name something iTouch Kids!
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LOL!
William Farrell 4th Nov
@jdaughtry@...
+1
grin
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
bobbykz324 3rd Nov
Maybe the list should be expanded a bit. How about Microsoft Bob? Being a Robert (Bob), 2 words you don't ever want associated with you name are "Micro" and "soft'.
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
CobraA1 4th Nov
"We're not quite sure why it was called the 'George,' but we seem to remember one of the company reps mentioning something about being the first of its kind and a George Washington connection."

Being that "George" itself is a rather generic name, perhaps "Washington" may have been a better choice, heh.

However, not sure why they'd want tie in George Washington in the first place. Tying in with him would make sense for a military regiment, but doesn't make so much sense for a tech device.

Sounds like a device named by a committee with groupthink problems.
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
lepoete73 4th Nov
@CobraA1

First thing I thought when I saw the name with "George" was that it most certainly was a Walmart product with some ties to their George clothings.
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NOPE.. none of these even come close the REAL worst name..
doctorSpoc 4th Nov
NOTHING.. NOTHING is worse than..

the "iBeat Blaxx" by a German company called Trek Store.. lol..
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Muteki means....
qwetry 4th Nov
"No equal" in Japanese. And by the look of it, I believe them, if it were in reference to the ridiculous size for a non-component based system.
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
Aerowind 4th Nov
@qwetry It can also mean Invincible or Unstoppable. I quite like the name.
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
PercySludge Updated - 5th Nov
The iPad? Why it's woman's best friend!

And has everyone now forgotten IBM's OS/2 WARP?
A name that suggests the bankster's best friend...
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RE: 20 worst-named tech products, ever
Zappykins 6th Nov
Definitely Wii U and I would probably put Zune and Roku on that list even-thought I really like them.

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