The New Product Was Called Treo

The name Treo came from the idea that the product replaced three things: the phone, the organizer, and the wireless e-mail or Internet device. Research showed that most people liked the name because it was short and easy to remember. Handspring liked the name because it communicated the three different uses of the device. The company even went a step further and created model numbers that were all divisible by three: the Treo 90, Treo 180, Treo 270, and Treo 300.

Naming the Treo was not an easy task. Many alternative names were created, and Handspring had to get everybody inside the company to agree on which name to use. This turned out to be harder than originally thought, and Handspring quickly discovered that naming is very controversial . To further complicate the problem, after everyone had finally agreed on certain names, those names had to be submitted to a legal search to see if they were clearand many were not. Even Treo was not totally free of conflict. A Scandinavian pharmaceutical company had a trademark on the name Treo, which meant something in that language. Handspring decided to take the risk and attempt to register the name anyway. Fortunately, it worked out.