Apple Inc. has applied for the new gTLD .apple and the status is currently delegated. Apple Inc. also is going to own the new gTLD .beats since it acquired Beats Electronics, LLC.
On September 17, 2015 Apple Inc. has purchased 29 new .com domain names according to whois records and IMO, these domain name registrations appear to relate to what “will be” URL’s using the .apple gTLD as a typographical cover!
IMO, these following 29 new domain name registrations maybe domain names used by Apple Inc. as new gTLD domain names .Apple .
Here are the 29 domain names registered.
AppleCareApple.com, AppleMusicApple.com, AppleMusicConnectApple.com, AppleNewsApple.com, ApplePayApple.com, AppleStoreApple.com, AppleTvosApple.com CarPlayApple.com, FinalCutProApple.com, FlyOverApple.com, GarageBandApple.com, iPadApple.com, iBooksApple.com, iBooksStoreApple.com, iLifeApple.com, iMovieApple.com, iPadAirApple.com, iPadMiniApple.com, iPadProApple.com, iPodNanoApple.com, iPodTouchApple.com, iSightApple.com, iTunesStoreApple.com, LivePhotosApple.com, MacbookAirApple.com, MacbookProApple.com, MacProApple.com, MacStoreApple.com , xCodeApple.com and AppleWatchApple.com
So, the above domain names somewhat look “odd” just looking at them, because they all end in “Apple”. What makes sense to me though and seeing these, if you replace Apple.com at the end with just .apple they make more sense!
- iLife.apple vs iLifeApple.com
- LivePhotos.apple vs LivePhotosApple.com
- MacbookPro.apple vs MacbookProApple.com
- MacStore.apple vs MacStoreApple.com
- xCode.apple vs xCodeApple.com
Since the new gTLD extension are “new” and .com has been around for so long… it is pretty common nature for people to type .com!
Heck, I even do it all the time and I am well aware of the new gTLD’s.
So one may see AppleWatch.apple and they might type in AppleWatchApple.com! At least Apple seems to think so which is why Apple Inc. would want to own that .com domain name as it has control over where the traffic is directed.
This is very smart typo protection IMHO by Apple Inc.
If somebody were to type AppleWatch.apple.com it would THEN be in Apple’s best interest to have that “sub-domain” on apple.com redirect to applewatch.apple because AppleWatch.apple.com is technically a sub-domain name on apple.com, as is www. . Technical, yes, but it is. Confusing, again, yes.
AppleWatchApple.com looks out-of-place as a domain name in general but makes perfect sense when you consider AppleWatch.Apple will be a domain name used by Apple!
treading in 5 foot deep water – so why bother ?
great call. i think your spot on
page
Often I find myself typing Ferrari.chat instead of Ferrarichat.com when catching up on my brother’s daily banter regarding the .Appalling depreciation of his vehicle.
I think somebody’s got too much time on their hands with this analysis!
But to critique some of the points/theories raised, people are surely more liable to type in watch.apple (or iWatch.apple) rather than applewatchapple.com or applewatch.apple, no?
Rarely will people enter the wrong domain as a result of exerting more effort than necessary. They make mistakes because they go for what seems to them to be the most obvious direct route. I would suggest that Applewatchapple.com is never going to be entered by even the most novice internet user.
iWatch.apple (despite iWatch not being the device’s name) is, for example, going to receive far more traffic than applewatchapple.com.
I have met Diana and the team at Apple who are operating .apple – they are incredibly savvy and have very good advisors with a lot of industry background, so it makes sense they would make these pre-registrations.
Hopefully, they can come talk about this at the NamesCon in 2016 in January 🙂
-Jothan
How many typo protection can Apple get for this generic name.
Looks good:
Apple.com/macbook
Apple.com
store.apple
Looks bad:
applecareapple.com
applecare.apple
Applestore.apple
And who cares. Just type apple.com and browse the site..
It’s a pity that dotless domains aren’t currently a possibility because in my personal opinion both “apple/watch” and “apple/store” would look far better than watch.apple and store.apple especially as both watch.apple.com and store.apple.com are both possible for Apple to configure now. Dotless would also negate the need for brands feeling they needed to register every {whatever}{brand-gtld}.com to protect against mistyping, because the brand gTLD would be furthest to the left. Finally the URLs would read better because they wouldn’t be backwards.
If they are smart, they will simply do…
MY.APPLE
….for account access with…
MY.APPLE/watch
Taking you directly to a personalised page concerning the watch, providing all information concerning compatibility issues with your existing gear.
Going dotless would make .coms appear http://com/microsoft
Add a subdirectory http://com/microsoft/DOS
The dot hasn’t failed radio yet 101.1 “one oh one point one”
Steve,
Your comment is not correct, “Going dotless would make .coms appear http://com/microsoft“.
com is owned by verisign. Why would verisign host a subdirectory for anyone on their personal webserver? If you own the root and the website… Then apple/store would work. But you need both.
Dotless is pointless. The incorrect example correctly depicts an absolute convention of URLS beginning with the top level domain at the far left not working for dot com.
So dotless WILL work, but not absolute, right? Strictly for “closed” TLD’s like .abc, .aol, .apple, & .cbs. A Need for Both dots & dotless? I need hp.com to setup hp.com/discounts and offer a fast way to find a better price than Costco on HP Laptops. The $9 dot com offers as many slashes as needed for free. If you’re gonna use slashes, why pay a lot of money for them?
Jay, Your creation DomainTools is an indispensable and vital utility. Discovering DomainTools, completed my search for a great WHOIS.
Totally agree, it’s all about brand protection.
Dotless domains do exist. There is a company called Nodot Domain that is offering them.