Branding “App”: Why Zune Should Just Let Apple Have It

There’s been a lot of talk about branded apps recently, but what about the branding of the word ‘app’?

App is a strong and powerful term. A noun of action from the Latin ‘applicare,’ it connotes getting stuff done, as in, applying something or oneself. Now it is synonymous with those little downloadable widgets on an iPhone.

It almost feels like Steve Jobs invented the term: Apple has the “App Store,” the catch-phrase “There’s an app for that” — heck, it’s even part of their name. But the Engadget report that Microsoft’s Zune HD will be using the word “Apps” in their “marketplace” raises the question: Can they do that? Continue reading...