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UK retailer claims iPod touch to get camera, FaceTime

updated 08:30 am EDT, Thu July 8, 2010

New iPod touch may be very close to iPhone 4


The 2010 iPod touch may be so close to the iPhone 4 that only the phone features are missing, UK retailer John Lewis' audio buyer, Rob Hennessey, claimed today. At a London event, Hennessy cited suppliers who claimed it would not only have the five-megapixel camera and flash of the iPhone 4 but use FaceTime video calls. There was no mention of a front-facing camera, but all talk would happen over Wi-Fi.

The procurer's slides didn't reveal significantly more to Pocket-lint and others in attendance, but he did understand the iPhone 4's gyroscope would come with to help bolster the iPod's gaming credentials. Much of the talk centered on Apple's target audience, which Lewis thought would be aimed at youth and those interested in a heavy social networking component.

Since its launch in 2007, the iPod touch has almost always borrowed heavily from the iPhone that shipped a few months before it. As such, the 960x640 Retina Display is a likely candidate, as are the A4 processor and 802.11n Wi-Fi. Cameras haven't made it to the iPod touch so far, but it's known Apple has considered these in the past: prototypes have surfaced of a camera-equipped iPod touch in recent months, although these may have been for an aborted updated in late 2009. A 2010 model could have a significant redesign.

Retailers aren't always known to be accurate as they often have an incomplete picture of products, but Hennessy believes that the iPod touch update would come in September, in step with Apple's usual practice of holding a music event that month that updates its iPod line.

Leaked third-gen iPod touch prototype (likely to change for fourth-gen)


by MacNN Staff

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iPod, iPod touch, Apple, FaceTime, John Lewis

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  1. njfuzzy

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2001

    -2
    07/08, 09:43am | report spam | Reply |

    Duh.

    Every single iPod touch model has been an adaptation of the features/performance of the preceeding iPhone update.

    Plus, Apple is clearly trying to push FaceTime as a platform that goes beyond the iPhone-- and it works without needing a cellular connection.

    It seems obvious that the next iPod touch will include full support for FaceTime.

  1. Herod

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jun 2007

    0
    07/08, 10:00am | report spam | Reply |

    it may get a camera

    but i doubt it will get a front facing one as well, this soon.

  1. iphonerulez

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 2008

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    07/08, 10:29am | report spam | Reply |

    Great news if it's true...

    FaceTime on the iPod Touch would really boost up the number of FaceTime capable devices. I'm still uncertain as to whether FaceTime would be used much in personal calls. I wish the Touch was as much like the iPhone 4 as possible except for 3G, but that would really drive up the cost of the Touch and Apple won't do that. The Retina Display will be a welcome addition.

  1. Feathers

    Grizzled Veteran

    Joined: Oct 1999

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    07/08, 11:12am | report spam | Reply |

    Carrier Subsidy?

    The iPhone can adopt new expensive features because of the proportion of the overall cost that is absorbed by the carrier subsidy and extended contract. I doubt that the new Touch is going to ape all the features of the iPhone unless Apple is planning to hike the price $100 like they did with the new MacMini. My bad! Of course that's what they're going to do!

  1. Inkling

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jul 2006

    -1
    07/08, 12:02pm | report spam | Reply |

    Good news but....

    The possibility of a decent camera in the next iPod touch is good news. I was quite ticked off when necessity forced me to buy a cameraless 2-gen iPod touch. I need a camera for more mundane reasons, but if Apple's desire to promote FaceTime leads to adding one or even two cameras to the touch, that's fine with me. Ditto with the gyroscope and gamers. I'm not a gamer, but the more an iPod touch is like an iPhone, the easier life will be for developers and the fewer crippled touch applications on the market.

    Unfortunately, what I'd like--a GPS--wasn't mentioned. WiFi location actually works quite well, but it comes with a problem. We need a WiFi connection to use it. Users who have a WiFi connection almost always know where they are, so the location-feature is handy, but it isn't a necessity. When we need a location most is when we can't have it--flying down a highway or in some strange part of town. Add GPS to the touch, and it becomes a marvelous tool for people on the go and vacationers. But is that in Apple's plans?

    The difficulty comes when all these talk-home, gamer, productivity and travel features get included in one device. Talk-home people want cameras, gamers want speed and sensors, productivity people want an excellent screen, and travelers/vacationers want GPS. Topping this off are the outdoor types who'd like a model that's rugged and waterproof, as well as a large group who simply want an iPod for playing music via a convenient touch screen. The last don't want a shuttle or a nano, and they don't want to spend a lot of money. How can all these people be made happy?

    My hunch is that Apple will need to split their touch product line into models in different price ranges much like they have four different laptop models to accommodate user needs there. Developers will still face a split market, but the difference won't be any greater than the current iPhone v. iPod touch distinctions. Some touch models will become feature-rich like the iPhone 4. Others will remain like the current, rather feature-impoverished touch.



  1. testudo

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

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    07/08, 05:38pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re: Good news but

    The possibility of a decent camera in the next iPod touch is good news. I was quite ticked off when necessity forced me to buy a cameraless 2-gen iPod touch.


    Necessity? You actually had a reason/need to buy an iPod Touch?

    We need a WiFi connection to use it. Users who have a WiFi connection almost always know where they are, so the location-feature is handy, but it isn't a necessity.

    You don't need a wifi connection. You just need to catch a wifi signal. A previous connection may have already downloaded the data you need to track your location.

    My hunch is that Apple will need to split their touch product line into models in different price ranges much like they have four different laptop models to accommodate user needs there.

    Not going to happen. They won't just make different versions. They have to be truly differentiated in some way (say in size or shape). If you notice, Apple doesn't sell two 13" MacBookPros or two different iPod classics. They have different iPods, but they are radically different in size, shape, and capability.

    And they can't make a radically different touch. The whole point on the touch and iPhone is they are the same, basically. If you start making a touch with various screen sizes and capabilities, you fragment the market!

    Oh and Apple doesn't care about what users want. They're in the business of telling users what they want.

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