You have to admit, it’s got a decent name. It certainly hasn’t achieved the iconic status of “iPhone”, but it’s got the potential to get there. Somehow, the single-syllable alliteration flows in an unexpectedly pleasant way. If you’ve ever wondered how the name came about, here you go.

The professional branding agency Catchword was hired by Palm to come up with the name for their upcoming iPhone competitor, and Catchword posted a case study (now coming up as a 404 not found) detailing how they came to call it Prē:

“The creative exploration was mammoth. Yet after developing many thousands of names (and screening hundreds for legal snags and global suitability) the answer was almost elemental in its simplicity.

The Palm Prē. Refreshingly direct, unlike many of its hipper-than-thou competitors that take themselves way too seriously. The name Prē also subtly conveys the device’s ability to predict its user’s movements. And we like the fluid alliteration and upscale tonality (reminiscent of Grand Prix). An added bonus: the Prē links naturally to its sibling, the Trēo, both aurally and visually (with the long bar over the “e”).”