iPhone, iPod, iPad, iCal, iLife, etc. Does the "i" mean anything? And is it a trademark for Apple?
What does the “i” in Apple product names mean
apple-inc
Related Solutions
Their first product was the Apple I computer, hand-built by Steve Wozniak and first demonstrated in 1976.
You'll find plenty of details about Apple's early years in this section of the Apple, Inc Wikipedia entry.
Authorized retailers can order the new units from Apple more or less at the same time the Apple Stores get the new stuff. But while Apple Stores get the new stuff out on the sales floor at launch, the other retailers, for whom Apple gear is a small part of their business, may take longer to get the new stuff shipped from Apple, into their inventory systems, go through their internal distribution, and get it on their floors.
Best Answer
When Steve Jobs first introduced the iMac in 1998, he proclaimed that the i stood for Internet. Jobs went on to say, "i also means some other things to us" and displayed a presentation slide with the keywords:
You can even view video of this event.
The "i" was first used on the iBook and iMac. These were produced as Steve Jobs wanted a pro and consumer model of a desktop and portable computer. This later rolled out with more products, iSight, iPod, iPhone, iPad.
Yes the products are trademarked, but using an "i" itself before a product is not trademarked and it cannot be. Here is Apple's trademark list