Singapore Carriers to Offer Camera-less iPhone 4S Models

sk8mash said:

I just found the idea of a 300MW laser quite funny...no hard feelings!

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It all depends on how long that kind of power is output. High peak power lasers that are table-top sized were able to put out 10-100 times that much power more than a decade ago, but only for a very short period of time (femtoseconds).

You probably could trash the cameras with a laser, yes, without trashing the phone, but it seems like an awful lot of trouble. It would make more sense for Apple and others to just cave and make "government" versions available without cameras like, as others pointed out, is apparently already done for the computers.

coder12 said:

So... what if someone buys a camera-less device, gets a certificate proving that their device lacks a camera, and then puts cameras back into the device...?

Hmm?

edit: this case would only be likely if the carrier leaves the holes for both cameras intact.

Also, does this remove the camera's flash as well?

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Camera and LED flash is the same module.

They usually fill the hole.

The cost is minimal for the front and back cameras. No one is going to save money trying to buy camera less iPhones. OEM parts are fairly cheap, as in less than $20 for both, the only thing not for sale is the logic board from the OEM maker.

For whatever reason, this still pretty stupid.

1. The iPhone cost is not getting cheaper by modifying the current 4S into camera-less model by whatever means.
Instead the price is going UP because they need additional cost for removing the camera ... super nice, huh?

And iPhone camera is one of the best camera sensor for a phone out there. Taking it off, or covering it is just like removing ECU from your Ferrari engine.

Remember in Singapore, many people pay upfront to get an unlocked iPhone. So yeah, they swallow $900 price upfront for a 64GB iPhone, and camera less?

2. They claim this camera less iPhone going to lose warranty due to the modification. dable you tee eff to that!! ....

3. If military asking this for security, why not removing GPS and cell radio too? You know, people can spy your camp location via GPS. So yeah, you really should remove that too. Make it on Airplane Mode all the time .. nice huh?

4. So ... Let's sum this up: Stripped down camera, still not cheaper (it's more expensive indeed), voiding official warranty, still be able to track location via GPS/cell tower for not so secure connection.. pointless, wouldn't you say? Like paying ugly cheapo stripped down Hyundai while you can get a Ferrari for $300.000.

If I were a military staff, I'd go with super cheap feature phone for professional text/call, and iPhone for personal use. Good thing they remove the plan (at least temporarily).

This seems way to extreme....

Just treat the situation like corporations do and use the tools Apple has provided.

With Mobile Device Management (Profile Manager, iPCU, or many other third parties), you can disable the camera. If you go work for a big company with secrets, they require you to install profiles on your iPhone. These can automatically setup the email accounts, provide VPN settings, etc. They can also disable the camera.

So instead of buying a modified phone and having poor resale value, no warranty, and no camera if or when you leave the military.... just require your members to install this profile. You can set that profile so it can't be removed without wiping the phone.

Yes, you can wipe the phone and get your camera back and bring it to work... but you can also trade your phone with someone else, you could reinstall the camera... or buy new phone. if you want to beat the system, you'll find a way. You just want a way to stop the day to day rule breakers.

adamberti said:

This seems way to extreme....

Just treat the situation like corporations do and use the tools Apple has provided.

With Mobile Device Management (Profile Manager, iPCU, or many other third parties), you can disable the camera. If you go work for a big company with secrets, they require you to install profiles on your iPhone. These can automatically setup the email accounts, provide VPN settings, etc. They can also disable the camera.

So instead of buying a modified phone and having poor resale value, no warranty, and no camera if or when you leave the military.... just require your members to install this profile. You can set that profile so it can't be removed without wiping the phone.

Yes, you can wipe the phone and get your camera back and bring it to work... but you can also trade your phone with someone else, you could reinstall the camera... or buy new phone. if you want to beat the system, you'll find a way. You just want a way to stop the day to day rule breakers.

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So, there is your answer, the Sg military wants to be 100% sure the camera is disabled and it is not when you can for instance just reset the phone or worse jailbreak and enable the camera again.

justperry said:

So, there is your answer, the Sg military wants to be 100% sure the camera is disabled and it is not when you can for instance just reset the phone or worse jailbreak and enable the camera again.

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Or you could buy the parts online and reinstall.... or trade with a friend.... or fake your certificate.... There's a million ways. What I'm saying is, since there's no fool proof way to stop it, why goto such an extreme? The goal is stop photos of opportunity... just like a lock on my front door stops crimes of opportunity. If someone really wants to steal from my house, they will. From a sys admin point of view, you'll know when that device is no longer part of your system and doesn't 'check in'. You'll know they've wiped it and you can tell them that,

If someone wants a camera on the base because there's a picture they know they have to take, they will find a way.

Make it simple for the average person. Don't make them buy a warranty lacking modified phone that they can't use fully after they leave the military.

adamberti said:

Or you could buy the parts online and reinstall.... or trade with a friend.... or fake your certificate.... There's a million ways. What I'm saying is, since there's no fool proof way to stop it, why goto such an extreme? The goal is stop photos of opportunity... just like a lock on my front door stops crimes of opportunity. If someone really wants to steal from my house, they will. From a sys admin point of view, you'll know when that device is no longer part of your system and doesn't 'check in'. You'll know they've wiped it and you can tell them that,

If someone wants a camera on the base because there's a picture they know they have to take, they will find a way.

Make it simple for the average person. Don't make them buy a warranty lacking modified phone that they can't use fully after they leave the military.

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Agree

But what is there to loose for Sg military, they got overrun once and will get overrun again, it is just a tiny state and the military is very small.

Not that I want them to get overrun, I actually like Sg.

justperry said:

Agree

But what is there to loose for Sg military, they got overrun once and will get overrun again, it is just a tiny state and the military is very small.

Not that I want them to get overrun, I actually like Sg.

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Yeah - I like it too - travelled through for a week a few years back. When you're the military you can make whatever rules you want!