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Action now has a symbol, but does the symbol have a name?

By Kevin Michaluk on 13 Aug 2012 12:59 pm
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Do you have a better name for this symbol than the BlackBerry "splat"? Leave a comment with your suggestion and you could win a sweet prize!

If you're a BlackBerry user, you know the symbol in the image above. It's the graphic layered on top of application icons on the the BlackBerry homescreen, letting you know new messages have arrived in those apps.

For BlackBerry users, it's a powerful symbol. When you see it, it's hard to avoid clicking on it. You just have to take action and check what messages have come your way. But what's the name of this BlackBerry symbol?

Throughout the world... throughout history... powerful symbols typically have names associated with them. It only makes sense that this symbol for BlackBerry be given a proper name. This is especially true considering we are seeing the symbol show up in BlackBerry advertising. In India, BlackBerry launched a new Action Starts Here marketing campaign that puts a lot of emphasis on this symbol. 

Unofficially, I know Research In Motion employees have historically referred to this symbol as the "splat". Splat is definitely descriptive and fits with the basic look of the graphic (see google image search). It's also fitting given that it's typically splat on top of other icons. But... there's just something about the word splat that comes across as less than ideal for the name of a powerful symbol that represents Action. So I think it's time CrackBerry Nation weigh in with some suggestions as to what this symbol should be referred to as.

Question of the Week: What would you call the symbol in the image above? Leave a comment with your suggestions! We'll do a follow up post soon with our favorites and give away a sweet prize to our favorite of the bunch! 

Topics: BlackBerry Splat News & Rumors Editorial Contests

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Kevin Michaluk Kevin Michaluk 3672 (articles) 3016 (forum posts)
511 comments

Kevin Michaluk

Call it the CBK! Short for the CrackBerry Kevin! Or... not. :)

crozyBB

Sorry to hijack the first post, but when I work at RIM everyone there called it "the tomato" because it looks like a tomato from the top...not all that much better than "splat" haha

drjay868

I've heard other people call it a tomato, but not a fan... at all. Anytime I get a notification at home, the GF says my phone "bling'd" or "bong'd". As I started typing this, I thought a "bling" would be ok, but it's probably too close to M$'s Bing search. "Bong" might work, but that may not be a very smart move, politically.

451Cuda

Call it the Pentar short for Pentastar.......

bbvj

How about the Bing...vs. Ping (or is it too close)?

"Wait one second, I just got Binged"

rcheung135

BlackBerry Ping,
Now,
Apt,
Pareto,
Spring,
Cite,
Act,
Go,
Re(:), (or as in Regardez)
Vidi,
Up,
This,
That,
Reg,
Dat,
Entre,
Ace,
Amp,
Cue,
Cert,
Lert,

Of course,

Just to name a few...

DSCATCESQ

Star of Urgency!

AlenO

Rhe red thing shall be called an ASTER.

asterisk... Aka small star.
Send royalties to payalenosmanovic@gmail.com
:*

-alenO

----------------------
BOLD so hard.
----------------------

ShipyStyle

I don't know. 'Aster' sounds like an ugly girl's name.

8100-->8830-->9670-->9930=PlayBook

ELoXL

+1 for the "Aster"

To throw my two cents in lets get a little retro and say for

the longer version call it the "Blaster Aster".

If you've owned the first Nintendo then you'll know where I'm

going with this bit of geekness.

omegajimes

Now the theme song is stuck in my head :/

ElderTechTutor

"Burp" for BlackBerry Urgent Response Posted. Need a good Burp sound effect to announce new Burp arrivals. You then say, Another Burping Notification. All Burp audio files welcome.;)

ElderTechTutor
Summers, Michigan
Winters, Florida
HTC EVO 4G, Flyer, iPhone 3gs & iPad2

shebmiller

How about the BlackBerry Noti, or just a Noti (pronounced No-tee) short for notification. simple, catchy, "hey! did you get that noti?"

dehrlich01

I love that! That's one of the issues that's plaguing RIM; lack of marketability. Everything from Apple is brandable(?). From top to bottom, inside and out. WTF is a splat?? Really?

I know that comparing RIM to Apple will get me crucified among the BlackBerry purists... but you cannot deny the fact that Apple has done SOMETHING right in terms of branding to become the most successful company in the world!

BBPandy

+1 4 "noti"
I think that's a fun descriptive name that can easily be marketed

shebmiller

I think that it's simple and catchy enough to work. Plus I can see it being used my RIM people and developers. For example, at a BBJAMs event in the future : "Easily add a noti to your apps to keep your users informed and enganged".

the only downside to this "term" is that the word "No" appears in it, giving off a negative connotation. Someone way down the thread mentionned Do-Dot but now I can't find that post anymore... That's a clever name that ties into the BlackBerry people Do slogan...

Tariq.H

That sounds too close to "naughty" lol.... Besides I think they should use something with one syllable... Maybe splash?

LewLew23

I agree, they totally should use "noti" for it

all3n7

Oh shut up! The post is talking about the icon star, not comparing fruits,. Numb nuts ifan..

JJisGoofy

+1 It give RIM its own language like how ppl tend to talk in shorthand text

ELoXL

You get my +1 for the "Noti" and mainly because of the fact, as mentioned earlier, it-is marketable.

RIM needs that more than anything right about now.

Speaking from top to bottom lets get rid of RIM (you have now idea what goes through my head everytime I say that) and just wipe the slate clean making BlackBerry everything (all-Black-everything)!

jaywalker02

OCD... although I just refer to it as the red star

Fnord

Wouldn't that technically be the white star

screamndigit

i don't care what the suggestions are - i'm gonna call it splat. forever. thanks, CB!

TTune

'Burst' as in star-burst, or burst of energy or burst of activity.
BlackBerry Burst has a nice sound to it.

Two Cents spent.

xposeurphoto

+1000 ...and this would fall in line perfectly with Usain Bolt marketing

Also a proud owner of a Blackberry Playbook and Torch
www.xposeur.zenfolio.com

morlock_man

A quick search for 'BlackBerry Burst' brings up a negative article referring to the Co-CEOs leaving the company.

http://gizmodo.com/5878320/rims-ceos-finally-step-down

It's a gizmodo article though, so its biased from the first sentence.

shemaree09

call it the BlackBerry Crack! whenever you see it, you gotta take action and check it. Thats what makes us Crackberry users and abusers right? ; )

bambinoitaliano

Nah, crack makes one think of the plumbers cracks. Not a pretty Site.

DOCTOREVIL8

I'm Dotman.

10 chars, uggg.

jlauer89

Lol i have always called that little icon my "look, quick!" button... Every time I see it, i have to look quick at what it is, even in AP and stuff

SK122387

I've always called it "the little red thing" or the "star dot." I like Star Dot because that's what it looks like. A Star... in a Dot. And people with BlackBerrys always know what I'm talking about, so I guess it works.

pokemon

Ping perhaps?

Easy-G

I like this. And it makes sense in the "computer networking, roundtrip message" kind of communications sense.

Heliogabalus

Agreed - Ping is very good.

npunk42

The HeYo! or the InBot

RevyRah

I was thinking the "Yo". It's something that is simple and makes sense with a little cool factor thrown into the mix.

RevyRah

Yeah, I'm sold on the BlackBerry "Yo!". Marketing would have a blast with that.

franky62

Super
Performing
Laser
Action
Trademark

shebmiller

I see what you did there...

uuglyindaface

BlackBerry Alert Notification Action Light

amazinglygraceless

Right because nothing says ACTION like B A N A L

Banal = lacking originality; boring

yurayko

asterisk (astérisque) OR basterisque

:*

kolok

that sounds like Astérix and Obélix :)

guerllamo7

Boss!
or
This just in!

matt62

"Action Star" - simple and concise.

yanglee18

Shud hv been better wid emotion starts here.

duuj.2391

Pop.

It's simple enough and makes sense.

sabrefan73

It should be called the SNIR Symbol of New Information Received.

morlock_man

Nova.

Latin for new, as in new messages or new information.

Also fitting for how the BlackBerry Platform is about to go Super Nova and blow away its competitors and its starburst-like shape.

xposeurphoto

Sorry, bad idea. Read the case study on why Chevy had to pull the Chevy Nova on Latin America. Nova (no va) in Spanish means No go.

Also a proud owner of a Blackberry Playbook and Torch
www.xposeur.zenfolio.com

morlock_man

Yeeeah...

That never happened, the Chevy Nova sold well in Latin America. It's an urban legend.

http://spanish.about.com/cs/culture/a/chevy_nova.htm

xposeurphoto

Thanks for that! I un-learned something new today. I'd heard that story years ago before the internet was savvy.

Also a proud owner of a Blackberry Playbook
www.xposeur.zenfolio.com

lilmateo91690

Nova sounds a bit dramatic to me

tabalet

Sadly, as Chevrolet found out many years ago "no va" in Spanish means "doesn't go."

bilmaga

The BB Dingle

Or A dingleberry

theonecid

"BlackBerry Seed" - Coming straight from the core of BlackBerry. ;)

dustanh

My second girlfriend.

DOCTOREVIL8

It should be called "Hey Kevin, your alarm clock app has an update with a price increase"

black.rhino

Spark,
you know how it starts the chain of events

advil_yum

I like Squid. I don't know why. It makes no sense. It has 5 "arms", not 8. But when I look at it, my brain says, Squid. Try saying it to yourself a few times. You might agree!

PS: I also like Splat

Bobert_123

The blackberry nova or the bb bolt

fotyc

I'm not very creative in general but right off I thought of "ActSterisk." So you might still say I'm not very creative...

visiterfromcrackberry

I like the direction this one is going. Its an asterik to this makes a lot of sense. I say call it a "notification icon" and keep it classy.

jeancmo

Ari: Attention/Action Required Indicator :) or combined Bari: BlackBerry Attention/Action Required Indicator :)

867tower

PIP:
5 sections, relates to an orange pip (seed)
tons of famous literary characters (Dickens, Melville, Tolkien)

thurask

How about... "Chrysler"?

matkas

The "ReStar" os "Redar" (contraction of Red and Star)
Noticon isn't bad either

cinder0008

How about "Dash" into action.

HrvPav

How about the ANS (Action Now Symbol) also short for ANSwer ... just a thought 8)

oddboy

I'd be inclined to call it the SIGINT (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signals_intelligence).

mpcloutier

"Notification" symbol. Isn't that what it actually is?

you sir name

BlackBerry Pie - gotta get a slice!

SurrealCivic

BlackBerry Star

Puz_zled

So simple, so true.. I like it
Make that two votes for BlackBerry Star, but I also liked "noticon" mentioned above as a solid second choice.

franky62

Small Pretty Little Action Thingy

lang007

You need to name it the "RIM STAR"

ummie4

STAR DROP .... cause something of importance just dropped on your phone

glamrlama

Hmmmmm. Weird. I never really thought about it.

I just call it notification symbol like someone says above.

/Device agnosticism or bust!

benstinks

Blasterisk!

Or just the "Ping". Easy to say and keep with you.

ricocan

Well, I see it as a visual telephone ring, or a knock at the door to let you know you're receiving something, mail, updates or some other opportunity. Since "Action" is the correct response to "Opportunity", then this symbol is "opportunity knocking", so I like the "knocker"!

ummie4

As used in a sentence... "Check out the knockers on my phone" :p

ricocan

It should have that bit of a fun edge to it. "oh, just got a knock up my girl friend and see if I can go for a pint!" or "Be with you shortly, just checking who knocking me up." Anything that is fun! It can be quite serious too, but whatever it gets called it has to be comfortable in conversation.

I like the idea of using this splat, it's cool and has great potential.

sk8er_tor

Rubus - the genus of a blackberry fruit.

Maestra

+1 ~ really like that.

Alex_Hong

Why not just call it the "Action" icon. When you see it, you take action. Or when you see it, that means action is required. The BlackBerry Action.

Tariq.H

Probably not bad... Just action.... "hey hold on a second, I need to check my bbm I got an action" lol

elyon

I've always thought it was an asterisk:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterisk

FlightsimGuy

I'd go with the BlackBerry Beacon. It's another word for star, yet its meaning symbolizes something on the horizon, something yet to come. Sounds fitting, I think.

CormacMcCarthyNeedsNobel

How about "B. B. Ping?"

I like Nova, too.

BerryRipe

The BlackBerry "Bluk" symbol.

There's been some great suggestions, I hope one of them sticks.

NickinVA

I gotta admit, I like the "splat"!

Berry-the-Black_Trollsbane

Kinda looks like the symbol on the school flag in the TV show Community... They call it the anus but I doubt anyone would go for that... Well maybe the 15-18 demographic

sml20exel

It's the PING DOT of course! That can probably be revised into something catchier ._.

SafariRozay

I'm feeling the BB Bling.

Rozay

digtech

Damnnnn. Im too late... "BB Bling" sounds catchy.
Ill go with
"BB Blimp"
"BB HINT" Having Instant Notifications To The Tee.

TTune

I'm still liking BB Burst over Nova, Blimp, Splat.

QuIcKsIlV3r

The "Oh I have a msg and I must check it now" smack button

RWB3325

With inspiration from franky62..........

SPLAT

S trategically
PL aced
A lert
T arget

o4liberty

Red alert sounds good!

fanchettes

I always thought it looked like the little buckeye stickers Ohio State puts on their helmets.

BlueRocks

Stard.

ie. My BBM is stard.

SaltySnack

keep it simple and to the point kind of like BIS, cal it BAS " Berry Alert Symbol" Nothing fancy but it clearly identifies what it is, keeps it relevant and easy to remember.

NamelessStar

BAS is already in use with BlackBerry Administrative Service for all BES 5.0+

SaltySnack

damn I hate when that happens :-) doh

Fish Crackers

You could do BBA: BlackBerry Alert

NamelessStar

Star Of Absolute Reminder - :P always there to remind you there is something waiting for you to SOAR above all the rest

dabears580

Raspberry

drjay868

"Hold on a sec... I have to check my BlackBerry Raspberry".

jhspears

Call it the AAS =Action Alert Symbol

Fish Crackers

ok but not the Action Starts Symbol (ASS)

all3n7

Sounds stinky.. No way..

chiripio

Berry or Berry message o_0

Cracktere

I would call it a 'gotu,' as in, "I have 'gotu' on my blackberry apps. It must be an update on one of my apps."

Clinto

How about BlackBerry Action Symbol?? Then when you're talking with someone, and you get your BlackBerry Action Symbol, you can say hold on, I'm getting some BlackBerry Action.. And then you can tend to your phone. Ahh I'm getting some BlackBerry Action... Has a nice ring to it doesn't it??

17.michal

BlackBerry Action Symbol *BAS*...it goes so well along with BIS, BES, BBM ... maybe others that don't ring a bell now ...

aloofkid

Since I got my first BB 9700 and got addicted to it I always call it as The BlackBerry NotiCrackation

rflan7

I always thought, and have always called it, the BlackBerry Asterisk. Why make things complicated?

adamschuetze

"Action Item", as in Fight Club, where the boss is talking to Tyler (well, to his mild mannered alter-ego):

Narrator: Do you want me to deprioritize my current reports until you advise me of a status upgrade?
Boss: Yes. Make these your primary action items.

jaBBu

I kinda like:

theBBerry (after all it looks like a red berry)

OR

aCComplish (goes with action)

RFCanada

Bump... as in BlackBerry Bump.

or

Hello... as in BlackBerry Hello.

Vktr1215

What abaout "News spark"

ummie4

I like this or even just "spark" or "sparky"

sdiedericks

To me it's always been the Blinking Star - coz its arrival (ie the star's arrival) makes my BB's LED blink. Maybe the BB Blink is best for short.

A Blackberry Lover & User of a Playbook & Torch9800!!

RealPDizzy

I call it the "BlackBerry Ping Dot" or just "Ping Dot."

dhhoffm

"Action Star" or "Action Mark"

For example: When you see the Action Star above your message folder, it means you have an unread message--take action!

Tumacana

My thoughts exactly dhhoffm

Tumacana

How about just regular "Action" icon/symbol?

playboldbook

Focus (foci, plural). After all, it/they draw your attention when you see them on the device, i.e. focal point. Plus Thor said RIM is laser "focused" on building the best platform.

But, I like Nova too. Maybe even Nota (kind of a combo of nova and notification).

captain_tinker

I am almost positive that it is already called the focus icon. If I remember correctly by what the icons in the theme builder were called... At least I think so. I do like that term for it. Splat is a fun laymans term for it, but for marketing level nomenclature, not so much.

playboldbook

Well, I did not know that, cool. So there you go Kevin it already has a name besides "splat". Obviously I cannot/will not claim credit for "focus".

Reading through some of the others I also like Spark (goes with the fire and rising of the pheonix thing) and sparks you into action.

Lots about action, BBact etc. those are good. I'll add one to that, how about ReAct or ReActS. For every action there is an equal reaction (plus cold be short for "red action star", I know bad, but hey).

Hamp

TAc or TAC - T ake AC tion

chsr40

How about 'Redification'?

Ciurlo

what about its latin ancient name.......astericolum!!! :D

also Astrix is cool.

screechop

Blackberry Trigger, because as soon as I see it, i'm quick to respond

SaltySnack

since my suggestion was splattered i will try again.
call it the "Kickass Crackberry Prize Notification Symbol".

shawnarsen

The "Gong". Powerful, loud, time-sensitive... the blackberry gong.

xposeurphoto

Burst or Spark

...and combine with Usain Bolt marketing.

Also a proud owner of a Blackberry Playbook and Torch
www.xposeur.zenfolio.com

Fish Crackers

the GET-R-DONE! symbol  

9of13

"Berricon" (BlackBerry Icon)

Jaredius

I've always referred to it as the "ping".

Lord_Jareth_89

What about RAS... For Rapid Action Star wich is meant for the user who uses email. instant messagin apps like our (bbm, whatsapp, etc...) and also social media apps like twitter, Facebook or instagram in BB10 so fast that even the quickest iOS or Android user couldn't catch up!

crackhead007

RAS is already widely used in the network community - Remote Access Server. I believe it may even be trademarked by Microsoft.

Vemilyus

The Badge of BlackBerry Action!

JimJamSapan

splaTN - True notifications, something IOS and Android dont have!

kwandar

It's a "Snowflake in the Sun".

It's something URGENT - get to it quick - before it MELTS!! And RIM being Canadian certainly is a dead giveaway, that it's a snowflake :)

supraking

I like Beacon. Just call it the Beacon, it guides you to the right place in the darkness :)

enlubo12

Autocrat, or BlackBerry Crown, RIM Crown.
It speaks and we obey without question!

kblder

I like "Blackberry APT"
Apt: keenly intelligent and responsive
It's short, to the point, and has a great meaning
It is an adjective but I'm sure we can all turn it into a noun

dcrystal99

G.O.H.

*Que Scorpion voice*

Get Over Here!

drjay868

LOL... I only like that if everyone is required to sign a contract that they must always say "Get Over Here" in the Scorpion voice.

dllrogers55

The Click. Just click it.

andrewmcwhirter

Simple: 'Action Me'

"You have some Action Me's on your BB".
"You have an Action Me in your inbox"
"Twitter has an Action Me"

chaosdivine

Blackberry Bauble

BB Now

Sparkle

Shobu

Blackberry users "Do"

This is my "Do-Dot". ;)

J W L

i like the "Do-Dot"

elibohnert

Bolter! Now that's a cool name!

deejayburnout

What about the Brapp.

Just cos it sounds good.

olafson

The mailman.

He looks like a little man (a stick man or the inukshuk from the 2010 Olympics) and when he shows up he is delivering mail/messages.

captain_tinker

Heres another idea, when will this be on a T-Shirt for us to wear? I'd certainly wear that...

amer747

I call it the"""""""BLACKBERRY TOCHKA"""""""""

ummie4

Manbearpig or Handbanana

Houshinto

How about "Toki"

It's based off the Toki Clan which if you look at their "clan crest:" shares some similarities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toki_clan

But if it has to be somewhat related to Blackberry, and perhaps not the most original, how about.:

Rim-eye or BBeye (pronounced: b-bye)

niss63

"How about the BlackBerry Noti, or just a Noti (pronounced No-tee) short for notification. simple, catchy, "hey! did you get that noti?""

""Notification" symbol. Isn't that what it actually is?"

Combine these two:

Noti + Icon = Noticon

drjay868

The first thing I thought of for "noticon" was a third faction of Transformers. I know, I'm a dork, but it would make for some pretty cool commercials and sponsorship for when/if they make another movie...

Zildjian71

+2
I like that...but I was thinking of...
The Do It Now Icon or DINI. ;)

bizzyqu

U-lert - an alert for you!

G-bone

The Laser Dot.
The Rock Star.(Let's Rock and Roll This )

lev874

SOAR - Symbol Of Action Required.

A call to action for the blackberry nation

jamesp614

Three options for consideration:

Notification Star

Action Blast

Stop, Act Now (STAN!)

Huisman7

Just call it a Berry or Berri.

"I sent you a message today, did you get it?"

"No"

"Does you mail not have a berri on it?"

newcollector

ActStar since Action Starts Here!

amer747

""""""Blackberry Berryto"""""""

immovablesoup

BlackBerry Badge? Actually, I'd love a badge of the um, badge

bungaboy

The BlackBerry BOLT!

Like Usain Bolt . . . . "Legs in motion"

lcgoldman

I like "BOLT".

My other suggestion would be "JOLT". It jolts you in to action.

ugbadboy

BlackBerry Core

BlackBerry is all about connectivity, thats its Core purpose, so it shows you when someone or something is trying to connect to you!

BlackBerry Core

buckwylder

Red Alert:

Like the famous 80's hip hop DJ.

Starter:

Like those old school fitted hats.

Kick STARt:

Like a motorcycle.

I gots nuthin.

____________________________________________________________

in the time of your life, live so that in that good time, there should be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life that your life touches, seek goodness everywhere

kevindude789

How about the "BlackBerry Quark" or just "quark"?

nccanadian

First thing I thought was "Tomato". But since I am a Canuck living in the South, more appropriately, " red 'mater " makes sense to me.

Blacula

I'd call it a Torx. Since it looks like a Torx driver bit.

louzer

Round Tuit or just Tuit (pronounced two it). It tells you that there is something important and you have to get 'a round Tuit'.

drjay868

My favorite one so far!

amer747

""""""Blackberry Puck"""""""

avi.panday

BlackBerry Insignia.. Seems to have a nice ring to it :)

TTune

Nope I'm still liking BB Burst Best.

digimate

This symbol should be called the 'BB Check' symbol - here's why:

BlackBerry: Check It!

That should be the new slogan for RIM in NA. Nevermind the 'action'...

Keep it simple - quasi-Nike feel to it - but to the point and something that BlackBerry users already do all the time anyway - they check it. they check it to work. they check it to play. they check it for comfort...

The slogan encourages use of the product, can be incorporated into the new NFC communications capabilities - as in 'checking out' your products at retail locations using nfc; could be used to re-introduce people back to the BB platform - BB 10: CHECK IT;

and heck - while we're at it? New name for BBM on BB10 or a new feature...... CheckMate.

:)

mtnbik3r

Two suggestions:

1. It kinda looks like a "RIM" with spokes so maybe call it A Spoke or similar. The spokes keep my day rollin!

2. It could also be a little long-necked person that takes care of all our biz so we don't have to...the previous suggestion of "Noti" would be a great name for the little guys..."Noobs" also rings true

RoboticGolem

Blackberry Fray, or the Hoopla Accent.

YellowdogBB

BBAct

(pronounced bact)

geoffsdad

Jumpin Jack! Maybe even Jumpin Jack Flash or JJF(pronounced Jeff) for short

digimate

but if i've got a choose one from above - Torx. I like that... would be a good name for a new BB10 device.... BB TORX.

Bonesn

I like BlackBerry Asteriscus.

amer747

""""Blackberry Pie""""""

goodbery

How about the BIN ( Blackberry information notice ). I'm always checking the BIN. bin there and done that.

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