LG is releasing a 3G netbook called the Momo X110. Like all netbooks, it has indistinguishable specs: the ubiquitous 1.6GHz processor, a 1.3MP webcam, a 10 inch screen and Windows XP. The big addition is the 3G radio antenna, which will likely see the X110 as a bundle-deal with cellphone carriers.
The product name strikes me as a bit strange for an English market, though. LG is obviously conjuring up the image of a peach with the Momo name, which is a fine connotation for a cute netbook in pastel colors. But it’s also a bit tin-eared: it’s too close phonemically to the word “homo” not to cause a slew of double-takes when shoppers skim through their Verizon Wireless circulars and — for one brief moment, before they rub their eyes and re-read — are seemingly confronted with an ad for an adorable, pink laptop that apparently wears its sexuality on its sleeve. Which is, admittedly, a pretty wonderful mental image, but perhaps not the one LG is looking for.
X110 Momo [LG via Gadget Lab]
Obviously a reference to a small cute death god:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangiku_Matsumoto#Momo_Hinamori
And I think of the small Tibetan steamed/fried dumpling…an accurate representation of how my mind works.
Unfortunately, “momo” is also a derogatory term for the mentally or emotionally impaired.
@ #6 — Really? I’ve never heard that one before.
‘homo’ is the new ‘sapiens’
LG is a Korean company, not Japanese.
Momo immediately made me thing of MOMA … take that for what it’s worth.
My bad, AJ. Thanks for the correction.
Round these parts its slang for ass.
@7 — Yup, ’round here it usually stands in for “moron,” but it’s not widely used.
“it’s too close phonemically to the word “homo” not to cause a slew of double-takes …”
Really, that didn’t even occur to me. Methinks this observation says more about the writer’s opinion of Verizon subscribers than it does the rest of humanity.
MOMO is a rice/race car steering wheel company i thought.. so you might well get a load of young revhead guys buying it. In the car world MOMO & HOMO are the polar opposite of each other.