Pleco Verbosity

[mikelove]

What does everyone think about "Verbosity" as a possible product name? (either for a new version of PlecoDict or possibly as a name for a new product we're thinking about)

Verbosity.com is available (though not cheap), which is part of why it's an appealing option. The main brand here would still be "Pleco," this would just be a way of having something more original than "PlecoDict" or "Pleco Dictionary" - "Pleco Verbosity" or "Pleco Software Verbosity" or "Verbosity 2.0 by Pleco Software" or something along those lines. The highest-ranked Google result for "verbosity" has about the same PageRank as our website, so it wouldn't be difficult for us to ensure that we'd come up first in search results on the word.

My biggest worry is that it's not all that common a word, so along with the misspelling potential (verbocity.com, oddly enough, is being used by someone) among native English speakers, there's also the problem of whether or not it would be recognized / appreciated by non-English speakers. But it's not like "Pleco" is that common a word either, and in general I think that having a product name that's an actual word is better than having a two-words-jammed-together one like PlecoDict.

 

[gato]

Doesn't "verbose" have a somewhat negative connotation? "Verbosity" is also a bit hard to pronounce.
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/verbosity
Main Entry: ver·bose
1 : containing more words than necessary : WORDY <a verbose reply>; also : impaired by wordiness <a verbose style>
2 : given to wordiness <a verbose orator>

Since "PlecoDict" is already an established brand, I think you shouldn't change it unless you come up with something much better. I had a couple of problems initially with "Pleco". First, I kept misspelling it as "Pelco" because I wasn't familiar with pleco the fish. Second, the name sounded a bit toyish compared to more scholarly-sounding "Wenlin" I was using. That probably delayed my trying out PlecoDict for a year. Though I already had a PDA, PlecoDict didn't sound like it could improve upon Wenlin until I belatedly tried it as I was thinking about giving my PDA away due to lack of use.

 

[Azabu]

I agree with Gato - it doesn't sound attractive at all.

 

[mikelove]

Interesting reaction - to me it sounds kind of cool / sophisticated. But then again I do tend to be rather wordy myself Anyway, I'll keep thinking. Thanks!

 

[Smoodo]

You have good branding already.

I agree with the above posters. I see the potential to use a Microsofty tactic like they did with "DirectX". Replace "X" with whatever product differentiation there is if it's in the same class.

PlecoDict (PDA)
PlecoDesktop (Very clear what this could be and it's connection with PlecoDict).

Yada yada.

In my mind I know what PlecoDict is. I've told too many people about it to suddenly switch stories and say "Well, they have a new thing out, which is the same, but with a different name, oh and a few usability enhancements and maybe a feature or two difference but not a new 'kind' of product."

That's my two mao.

 

[mikelove]

Well that's pretty much what I'd been thinking unless I manage come up with a really good new name. PlecoFlash, PlecoRead, the whole thing being described as "Pleco System 2.0" or "Pleco Suite 2.0" or something along those lines.

But probably not PlecoDesktop, since I don't want to pigeonhole that into being just a desktop version; UMPCs are likely to be a big part of the market for it too, indeed they're the main reason why we set up all of our various licenses to allow a version for "regular" Windows. The current models are still rather clunky, yeah, but so were cell phones a decade ago - prices are already below $800 in some places and could be below $500 in a year or two. So the desktop version would likely just be "Pleco for Windows" or something similar.

 

[hairyleprechaun]

I agree with the others. Verbosity (did I spell it right?) is rather cumbersome to think about or to say.

 

[ben_gb]

Just some more feedback on "Verbosity".

Sorry, but it did immediately conjure up a negative image for me.

Maybe that's the reason the domain is still for sale!?

I feel that Pleco/Plecodict already has a fair level of name recognition on many chinese language-related sites, with lots of word-of-mouth recommendations. Be careful not to throw that away.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[zarathustra]

I like the idea of including sino in the name. The best thing I can think of is sinoxue.

 

[Shadowdh]

Actually I quite liked it but then like you Mike I am known to be rather verbose too.... Verbosity(tm) bringing you plecodict... but I do agree that now you have the name out there (and I have just spent the day singing its praises and demoing it to a group of Chinese teachers at a conference) it might be wise to hold on to the name...

 

[Mads]

I got a name for you

PlecoSino

Sino meaning Chinese in old English. It has a bit of rhyme to it and is sort of catchy as well i think.

 

[mikelove]

Actually, I'm specifically trying to avoid any references to Chinese in our product naming, because even though we don't have any immediate plans to expand to other languages it seems like we ought to at least leave that option open in the future. If we ever manage to license a good Japanese dictionary I'm pretty confident we could become a major player in that market; likewise with Korean (though with that the handwriting recognizer becomes a considerably less important asset), and even Roman-alphabet languages like Spanish/French/German/Italian might be worth looking at if the reviews of our new flashcard system are sufficiently positive.

 

[hairyleprechaun]

Alright Mike!

I (and some of my friends) am glad that you are keeping the option open of adding support for Japanese.

 

[sfrrr]

Mike--when I first found PlecoDict, I thought the name was hokey--wondered why you hadn't taken the time to be more imaginative. However, you are now identified as PlecoDict (or PD) and, so, I think it's not borken, so don't fix it.

Sandra

 

[KangSir]

Mike--when I first found PlecoDict, I thought the name was hokey--wondered why you hadn't taken the time to be more imaginative. However, you are now identified as PlecoDict (or PD) and, so, I think it's not borken, so don't fix it.

Sandra

Sandra is right Mike, and Gato.

You could just call it "Pleco", leaving you many copy options, like the Pleco (Asian) Language Learning Suite, etc. It has a punch, like Palm, Windows, Seamonkey etc.

PlecoDict is a little hard to say, and can be mispronouced as PlecoDic, which sounds, shall we say, curious.

 

[mikelove]

That's basically the way we're going now - "Pleco 2.0" for short, Pleco System vs. Pleco Suite vs. Pleco Whatever we're still working on (though Pleco Online has a nice ring to it for our eventual web-based product) but since the "Dict" part is kind of silly but "Pleco" is well-known it seems like the best way to go.