AS PEOPLE MAY recall, Apple's hypePad was a case of trademark violation that Apple eventually sorted out. While we cannot confirm that Apple has pressured the Linux-powered WePad to change its name (WePad is about us the customers, whereas hypePad is about "I", Apple that is, due to restrictions abundance), it seems like a defensible guess.
“Jobs also tried to extort Sun over a project it made available to GNU/Linux.”For quite some time Apple has been bullying companies over the use of the "i". Another example in Australia appeared last year, so despite Apple firing warning shots, some companies still try it and Apple hunts them down. iHate Apple? Sue me, Apple. iInsist.
Anyway, if it can be proven that WePad changed its name to WeTab only after Apple had contacted the company and made veiled threats, then Apple is going way too far. In Wikipedia, "wePad" already redirects to "WeTab". Who owns "Pad" now? Could Apple have had a role in the following:
1. WePad changes name to WeTab
Then I found this. They've changed the name from WePad to WeTab. Speculation is that they are pre-emptively avoiding entanglements with a certain company that seems a bit more eager to sue competition.
In a statement, the German company said the name change was to "clearly differentiate our products within the international market for tablet computers." A WeTab representative declined to comment on whether Apple influenced the name change.
Did they recieve a phone call from Steve Jobs? It’s not ideal to rename a product AFTER presenting it to the public, but I think they know for sure why they renamed it…