In April 2010, Apple released the iPad and has since sold millions of units.
Good news for Apple, but bad news for Apple when it comes to domain names.
The company’s only iPad domain: iPad.co. A name the company acquired in July, but doesn’t use.
Instead Apple settles for using the web address apple.com/ipad – the top search result in Google for the keyword “ipad”.
Will Apple buy iPad.com?
In January, TechCrunch writer Robin Wauters wrote an article title “Apple Doesn’t Own A Single iPad Related Domain Name“, but despite all the attention the article attracted, nothing has changed.
Though Apple purchased the domain name iPhone.com for seven figures from businessman Michael Kovatch months after it released the iPhone, there haven’t been any signs of the same happening with iPad.com.
For now, the owner of iPad.com continues to receive thousands of visitors per month, spiking well over 100,000 visitors some months. Traffic that appears to be for the most part, type-in traffic. As of today, ipad.com displays a Coming Soon page.
iPad.net is a developed web site, that hosts a blog dedicated to news, reviews, tricks, accessories, and more centered around the iPad. It too, is not affiliated with Apple Computer in any way, but shows up on the first page of Google Search results for the keyword ipad.
Who knows what will happen with the .com domain?
Maybe Apple has no interest in buying the .com domain, or maybe a plan is in the works to turn another domain owner into an instant millionaire as other writers and bloggers have suggested in the past.
Apple isn’t the only big company that doesn’t get domain names, as Mike Berkens points out in a story posted today, MySpace is another company that has difficulties.
2 replies on “Months after its release, the only iPad domain Apple owns is iPad.co”
Just blogged about Apple’s naming strategy:
http://fragerfactor.blogspot.com/2010/09/ping-com-and-apples-trademark.html
[…] A quick glance at some of the bigger names launching tablets, shows that Research In Motion isn’t the only company who doesn’t own their name + tablet. Only a handful of companies appear to have registered their name in time. Not even the mighty Apple which leads the tablet market with its iPad owns Appletablet.com. The domain name was first registered back in 2006 and serves as an online resource guide for Apple products. Apple doesn’t own iPad.com either. […]