Earlier iPod touch with camera leak vindicated in light of 3rd gen teardown
By Ross Miller 
posted September 13th 2009 7:18PM
posted September 13th 2009 7:18PM
posted September 13th 2009 7:18PM
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The fact is that it doesn't matter, Apple had no competition of any sort to the touch when this was being designed. The Zune HD is a recent development, and Apple is betting that they don't have to improve this generation much to keep the market share. The Zune would need an absolutely outrageous amount of marketing to get even get a foothold. I really hope Microsoft is starting to go to war over PMP's, Phones, Media tablets, etc. I like Apple, but Apple needs someone to really start challenging them on this stuff, and few companies outside MS can really do it effectively.
just let it go already. it doesnt have a camera.
iJustine wants an ipod touch with a camera.
I wonder what the timeline is then for an iPod touch with camera? Is it possible apple would release one 'mid-cycle', say early next year?
It dosent have the camera b/c they wanted the price to be 199... Thats all...
Is there any camera out there the same size (or smaller) with a better resolution than the ones already installed with the iphone/ ipod nano models? Anyone?
There is a pretty good chance that the higher end, 32GB and 64GB versions, were mean't to have the camera. His response was probably referring to the 8GB version.
I think this would probably answer the question as to why the ipod touch didn't have a camera
http://www.hardmac.com/news/2009/09/07/the-availability-of-the-new-ipod-touch-potentially-compromised
This was posted BEFORE the event in which the new ipods were revealed.
Well if Apple was less worried about losing sales to their iPhone and more worried about the competition like the Zune HD that's when something like a camera would make it stand out.
So Apple lost sales on both their iPhone and iPod with me. And all I wanted was a camera. ):
I have a 2nd gen ipod touch a 16gb to be exact. I was going to buy the new ipod touch because of the cam but then apple screwed me when i found out. My ipod is now no longer avaible in 16 gb and for the price i payed i could have gotten a 3rd gen with earphones with mic. I payed an aditional 32 dollars so i could get those same exact earphones that comes standard with 32gb and 64gb touch so that i could use a voip feature. So i lost money apple screwed my out of money apple wants to pay 5 dollars to get the 3.1 update after i already payed for 3.0 which again, apple lied it made my ipod shit it screwed my wifi i have to hasseling for it to get wifi a lot bull. No camera screw that 3.1 update for 5 dollars fuck that. Apple has not given me any reasons as to why get the new one so yeah.
everyone who wants an iphone and has the correct carrier has an iphone. for those who want an iphone but dont want to leave their current carrier has an ipod touch. leaving a camera out disappoints many and only hurt apple sales.
i suspect, as others have suggested, they took it out last minute due to some technical issue.
i do have a feeling apple will break the yearly ipod touch update/refresh cycle and release one with a camera and add it to the line like a high end model ($399+).
Did anyone else notice that the cutout in the 'leaked' iPod (where the camera was supposed to sit) does NOT line up with the empty space in the 'real' iPod?
Here's what I think happened:
Apple knows people wanted a camera in the touch but there was issues at the last moment so they had two choices, delay the release of the device or remove the problem now and fix/add it later. They chose the latter knowing that tons of people would buy the current version and then when they released the revised model even more people will buy it. Is it the best choice for the consumer? No. But I'm not too sure that that's their main priority, as is with most big companies. Bottom line is, they did the math and this is the way that will make them the most money.
If you don't like it then stop buying their products, if you feel a company is not looking out for your(the consumer's) best interest you don't buy from them, simple as that. Unless of course they have a monopoly on the product which Apple doesnt have... yet.
Personally I don't like Apple cause it seems to me that your buying the brand more then the actual product and thats idiotic, I'm not too happy with M$ either what with all the 360 problems and the poor design of the Zune software and Vista (imo). I bought my first Zune-30 because I wanted a cheap PMP and there was a cheap one on Craigslist, I just recently upgraded to a Zune 80 (refurb from Woot!) because I needed more space, it was cheap, and my first Zune was a workhorse. I want the new Zune HD cause it looks sick, will I buy it? Probably not because I don't want to spend the cash, and it doesnt fit my storage needs.
Down rank this, up rank this, whatever just do some research before handing over all your money to companies who don't give a rat's ass on how their actions effect their customers.
Apple was thinking, hey Y would we make the ipod touch with a camera when we can get people to buy the 2g ipod touch another year buy saying its a 3g ipod touch with nothing new to offer except its 50% "faster" and we can just add the camera in the next ipod touch because we are out of ideas with new hardware to add to the ipod touch and we are trying 2 keep it alive as far down the road as we possibly can which wont be long as long as apple is only adding crapgrads 2 there next gen devices
It's not the same unit at all.
It's much faster, and that's no lie. It is the only iPod touch that supports OpenGL ES 2.0 which means better games with better, faster graphics. It supports a line-in microphone without an adapter, making it ideal for mic-requiring apps. The built-in speaker is much, much better and louder than the 2G model. It comes with earbuds that have a remote and microphone built in. It's less expensive than the previous model was, too.
The ONLY thing they didn't put in was the bloody camera, and as I've said before, most people who use an iPod touch are also using a mobile phone (because we don't want to enter an iPhone contract), and you'd be hard-pressed to find a mobile phone on the market that doesn't have a camera in it these days... So we're not missing anything.
The new iPod touch is most certainly *not* just a re-packaged 2G touch. There are plenty of improvements worth noting. I like mine, and I wouldn't like it any more if there were a camera.
And before you scream "Apple fanboy!" let me just get this out of the way: My computer is an ASUS gaming laptop running Windows 7 RC 64-Bit, and my game console of choice is an Xbox 360, so just skip the Apple-loving accusations. I like Apple, and I like MS. I'm not taking sides.
The removal of the camera from the iPod Touch has to be with the whole Google Voice App rejection and the subsequent investigation by the FCC. Apple and it's partner in crime only(AT&T) only wanted video capabilities on the Touch. However the Touch has a unique feature that the nana and other iPods don't have. They have the ability to have applications. It wouldn't have been to hard for a camera app to be written for the Touch to take snapshots. Apple is afraid that they will have to approve apps they normally would reject because of the FCC involvement. The best way to get around no still pics is just to remove the camera all together till they pay the FCC off.
Is it not possible to add your own camera module? I mean the slot is there and you can buy seperate modules. You'd have to mod your case a little and find someone who is capable to write the software. But in theory it wouldn't be the hardest thing to do.
Yeah... sounds like a walk in the park...
Or we could all just buy an iPhone and not activate the phone part ¬_¬ I know it's a bit more expensive but still...
I'm not concerned about the empty space on the iPod Touch. My question is what about the Wi-Fi 802.11n? By having this already on the device, can it be used or just their to entice us. I guess someone will come-up with a way to jailbreak or tweak it so that you can use it. That would be nice.
I wager you will NEVER EVER find a need to pass data that fast on the iPod touch. Hardly anything needs 802.11n now as it is. I don't see how it's a tease, as I've got n on my laptop, and I still rarely need or use it.
This is still the iPod touch 2G people. Apple is not calling this the 3rd generation touch. The one that comes out WITH the camera will be the 3G.
According to MacRumors, there was a problem with the camera before the reveal on 9/9/09. The camera wasn't working, had a line defect, or something else. Sources said a whole bunch were made and pulled because of this problem. So Apple did the only thing they could with a looming deadline: The canceled the camera and went with what they had.
I actually have a new model 32GB touch, and it's pretty nice. There ARE significant improvements. The speed boost is quite noticeable (appears faster than any iPhone currently available) and the OpenGL ES 2.0 is going to be a standard for games before long. Right now, there are only a few games that support it, but the visual differences are nice (water effects, shading, etc.)... And some day there will be apps that require it.
The new model has the new earbuds with the remote/microphone built in, so apps like Shazam and Skype now work with the iPod touch without needing a mic adapter.
All in all, very nice. I'm not sure what I would have done with a camera, as I have a 3 megapixel camera on my mobile phone. I've no use for carrying around multiple cameras, and the iPod touch doesn't replace my phone, or vice-versa. I'm not paying AT&T's fees for iPhone, so the touch is the better choice for me.
And by the way, I see a lot of people saying the new touch will bomb. All I can say is that I had to hunt to get mine, and that they're already all out in retail stores in my area (a large city) as of this past weekend... So I don't think Apple's worried about you getting the Zune HD.
I almost forgot about this. Windows recognized my iPod touch as a camera device. I guess I should have taken a screen shot or something.
why would the camera be a big iPod touch > iPhone? isn't iPhone superior with or without the camera? the iPhone is a phone. iPhone has 3g iPhone has GPS even these 3 will outmatch the iPod touch so i don't see the reason for not having a camera on the iPod touch. if apple wants to have another name for the iPod touch being "a great media device" better put in that camera