An interesting blog post on ZDNet claims, “Today, a trusted source forwarded to me via email the following summary detailing the history of the trademark and the secret negotiations between Apple and Cisco that are underway right now, as I write this blog:”
- Apple has known about the iPhone trademark for years and approached Cisco starting in December 2001
- Cisco declined because of existing and planned product lines
- Apple has approached Cisco 3 times over the past year for rights to the iPhone trademark
- Cisco again declined because of existing and planned product lines
- More recently (last few weeks) high level negotiations for a “shared approach”
- It seems that in this case both an Apple cell phone and a Cisco VOIP phone would co-exist with the iPhone branding
- I think these discussions are still active and ongoing
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Sam Davyson
8th January 2007, 18.47 pm
Call me a spoil spot but I can’t believe that the contents of tomorrows keynote is going to change as a result of negotiations going on now. We’ll have to wait and see… but I would bet on no iPhone.
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Michael Lykke
9th January 2007, 11.35 am
Although I do hope for a phone from Apple, i really wish people would wkae up and take notice of what’s happening at Apple.
If the phone comes out I don’t think it will be iPhone or anything like that. If you took notice you would see that they have been going away from the i naming convention. The iBook is now called the Macbook and looking at all other products they are now called Mac Pro and Macbook Pro - Ie. three of the latest products and none of them are called i anything.
I’m not gonna guess what it will be called instead, if it comes out, but right now MacPhone sounds more likely when compared to the naming of the latest products.
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