Hammer Names: 'Athlon Pro 64' is the
One
By
Mario Rodrigues
Date: April 15, 2002
Much has been said
about the possible names
that AMD may use to christen its next generation Hammer products. The names that
I've seen to date just don't seem suitable. That changed today after a visit to
Ace's Hardware. On their
message board,
Johan De Gelas, Senior Editor at Ace's Hardware, came up with the perfect
name, 'Athlon Pro 64', and then explained his reasoning:
Athlon, to leverage the existing marketing investments, Pro to underline that it
is going to make it in the professional market, and 64 to underline that it is
the first 64 bit x86 processor.
When I first saw this name, it hit me like a thunderbolt. I knew that this
should be the name for Hammer. I hope that those individuals at AMD who are
responsible for choosing the Hammer product names will give this one serious
consideration. This name has everything. 'Athlon' signifies its very successful
lineage and heritage. 'Pro' signals its progress from Athlon, and more
importantly the P4. '64' fully differentiates itself from the P4. For the common
consumer, 64-bit is going to look and sound allot better than 32-bit, even
though Hammer is fully compatible with the 32-bit instruction set.
Imagine this scenario: John Simpleton visits his local Best Buy to buy a new
computer. The sales guy shows him two competing systems. John asks how the AMD
Athlon Pro 64 is different from the Intel P4. The sales guy said it's cheaper,
it runs all current software faster, and it can support 64-bit operating
systems, so it's future proofed. What else does John Simpleton need to be told?
He gets out his checkbook and buys the Athlon Pro 64 PC. Game, set and match to
AMD.
AMDZone is currently running a poll
on the possible names that AMD may use, and
the inquirer has
recently concluded one on this subject as well. The names in the AMDZone
poll are shown below:
Fortan
Vanton
Opteron
Metaron
Multeon
I hope AMD is not serious about using any of the above names, they're dead
ducks. If they are, they're going to have to have an out of this world marketing
campaign to make any of these names a success.
Having slept on this subject, I came up with my own system of names that are
based on Johan's suggestion:
Athlon Pro 64 M - M indicates mobile
Athlon Pro 64 XP
Athlon Pro 64 MP
Athlon Pro 64 Server - for four-way servers and up
The above list maintains that essential link to the Athlon name and the family
relationship that is vital for product branding. This also makes them much
easier to market than a new unknown name. The XP and MP nomenclature is
maintained, Athlon 4 is dropped and M (for mobile) and Server are added. These
names look clean and sophisticated, they also have that top to bottom
simplicity. In addition, they have that next generation appearance and sound
that sets them apart from Athlon. It sounds so universal as well. Marketing
these names should be a breeze.
Athlon Pro 64 has tremendous presence; it also resonates as being right.
Come on AMD, what are you waiting for?
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