HP Files for PALMPAD Trademark, webOS Slate Gets a Name?

A file for a trademark doesn't necessarily mean that a device is up and coming, or that the name itself will actually get used on a product released in the future. But, more often than not, that's exactly what it means. And while we were warming up to the name Hurricane for the future webOS tablet, we guess we could get used to saying PALMPAD. Thanks to a new USPTO trademark filing, HP is trying to make sure that no one else out there can get their hands on this obviously desired title.

Of course, when you look at the devices that HP is trying to cover in the trademark filing, it leaves a lot of possibilities on the table: Computers, computer hardware, computer software, computer peripherals, portable computers, handheld and mobile computers, PDAs, electronic notepads, mobile digital electronic devices. See? There's no way to confirm at this very moment whether or not it's going to be a tablet, but PALMPAD just seems like the right fit for nothing else.

So what do you think of the name? Is PALMPAD the best way to say you're playing with a "pad" device in the palm of your hand? Or, is that not necessarily something you'd be looking forward to telling your friend over the phone? At this point, we just hope the tablet with webOS exists, and we're still hoping to see it before the end of the year. Whether or not it's called the PALMPAD or Hurricane, well, we'll have to figure out which is better after it launches.

[via PreCentral]