I've talked to quite a few people, especially casuals, have a confused ideas about the WiiU.
Most seemed to think it was a peripheral for the Wii and had no idea what it could do. I've had to explain over and over that the WiiU was a brand new system.
I think Wii2 would have been a better name at least it conveys a new generation of the console. As time goes on the misconceptions are starting fade, but it is never good for people to not know excatly what you are selling.