Do Product Names Matter To Engineers?

Do product names matter to technical folks?  I think they can be important in retail marketing (e.g. iPhone, Word, Windows), but to engineers?

A lot of companies still use numeric product names; for example, a Kollmorgen AKM21 servo motor, the ST STM32 MCU, etc.  Other companies prefer using words; for example, Copley Controls has the Accelnet, Xenus, and others.

However, I’ve noticed a trend towards using easily pronounceable words for product lines.   TI is a great example; everything used to have a number (TMS320C6201, TMS320F2401, etc), but now TI has OMAPs, Sitaras, Delfinos, Piccolos, Wolverines, and probably a few I’ve missed.   Of course, Intel changed over from “x86″ to Pentium, but I believe the original reason was because “86″ couldn’t be trademarked but Pentium could.

I don’t care either way; I guess it’s easier to say “Accelnet” instead of ADP-055-18, but it also conveys less information.

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1. Sometimes there is no perfect product