iPad SDK Support for Front Facing Camera, Camera Flash, Zoom and Video Conferencing

[MacDawg]

You obviously don't have a job that requires travel 4 days a week. I use Skype almost every night to see my wife and daughter. Video chat would be the iPad's killer feature for me, but apparently I'm not Apple's intended market.

I think you are correct, you are not the intended market
That isn't meant to be harsh, but realistic
One person's killer app may not mean a thing to someone else
I am sure Apple is well aware of the pros and cons
And they are very strategic in everything they do

 

[cvaldes]

You obviously don't have a job that requires travel 4 days a week. I use Skype almost every night to see my wife and daughter. Video chat would be the iPad's killer feature for me, but apparently I'm not Apple's intended market.

Correct, you are not Apple's intended market for the iPad (well, at least currently).

However, patience may bring that functionality to an Apple (or competitor's) device in the future.

Vote with your dollars. That's the true capitalist way. If your individual needs would be better served by a device offered by another manufacturer or a service offered by another operator, feel free to give your money to them. That's the beauty of the free market economy.

I'm sorry that Apple concluded that video conferencing was not show-stopping functionality for the iPad, but Apple doesn't really give a sh*t about individual needs. They manufacture mass market devices designed to appeal to a wide swatch of consumers, not to cater to the needs of a handful of enthusiasts with esoteric requirements. Apparently, you fall into the latter category at this time.

It is entirely possible that either you, the marketplace, or Apple will change in time. As an AAPL shareholder, I advise you not to hold your breath.

 

[Xtremehkr]

I waited 2 generations and got an iPhone 3GS, it was well worth the wait.

It looks as though I may have to wait until the 3rd Gen iPad for it to have all of the features and functionality it should have come with originally.

Apple did do a fine job with this last iMac though.

 

[Rychy]

No one has been screwed over because it hasn't been released yet.

True enough... it just seems like camera/video conferencing be a big feature to save as a surprise around release. I'd want to make that pretty clear when they had everyone's attention back in January, that's just me though.

 

[fabulicious]

Apple has been pathetic lately

Lately? More like a long lately.

Gotta just love a company that purposely holds back on you so they can get you addicted to whatever form of crack they put under your noses in escalating doses.

It's not like they earnestly tried to pack all they could into a single device, signed off on the manufacturing and went "whoops! we forgot x, y and z" and then went "oh, well... we'll get it in the next version". Nope. Not Apple!

If another company had done this w/ their tablet, there would be hell to pay in these them there neck of the woods.

 

[chrislayton]

Over 10 millions deaf people in USA would NOT likely to buy iPad TILL have front camera and video chat function as well. All deaf people are use video conference for communication person to person or person to relay service. I am VERY EXTREME disappoint that iPad don't have front camera at point. I am deaf myself and really want iPad with front camera so bad. That will make my life more easily. I always LOVE Apple iPhone, iMac, but not this iPad. Shame on Apple.

 

[E.Lizardo]

I don't care about video calls. What I would like is a safe legal way to obtain adult content as easily as I do movies. Not necessarily for porn, even if it is for porn, it is my business not theirs. The whole idea of what I have access to being subject to the approval of some dingleberry at Apple seems ridiculous to me. If Apple intends to be the only place to legally obtain content for the iPad then they need to allow all legal content onto the iTunes store.

If they don't someone else will, or they will just use another platform.

One word:Safari.
More words:Email,Handbrake
If that's not enough God help you.

 

[pruppert]

I seem to vaguely recall an Apple patent of a camera hidden in the display. Actually I just googled it, and wasn't crazy... Google "apple patent camera behind screen" and you see the results...

Here is the schematic... sorta puts the "magic" back in the iPad...


Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch

The center of the screen would be a more orientation-independent place to put a front-facing camera. That part at least seems to make sense.

 

[iMacThere4Iam]

Trying...to resist... first gen iPad... without camera...but... must... have... must ...have...can't fight it... iPad's allure too powerful... growing weaker...reaching for credit card...

 

[iOzzie]

Well this article will just kill sales of the iPad, just wait for the next release guys!

 

[cvaldes]

Apple used to sell iSight camera's before they were built in. Besides, a third party could make one?

It really depends on how much access Apple gives to third-party video camera developers to the iPad dock connector.

Frankly, I doubt if Apple includes video support on this iPad. My guess is that the iPad has been in a manufacturing ramp over the past month, meaning no additional hardware features would be introduced. What Steve demoed in January was feature-complete, at least in terms of hardware.

Additional software-related functionality could pop up at the time of the release, but I'm thinking the significant milestones over the next year would be iPhone OS 4.0 (presumably June), a minor hardware bump in the fall and a major hardware upgrade (iPad 2.0) next spring.

The only other major change might be access to new content, but that's not really increased functionality, just content accessability.

 

[elephant man]

One word:Safari.
More words:Email,Handbrake
If that's not enough God help you.

Well, for films and such, this may be true. But are they going to censor the content of books in their iBook store. I would imagine they will be selling books with images as well as text, since the iPad has such a beautiful screen. I can see photography books being sold in the platform. Will Apple be censoring what can be sold as a book on this device?

 

[Padriac]

Actually, when you adjust the size of those buttons for the iPhone's Pixels Per Inch, aren't they *exactly* iPhone size?

That's the trouble I have with all these iPad camera rumors: how has anybody confirmed they don't apply to the next iPhone (since they use the exact same OS)? I see this as indicating the next iPhone will have a front-facing camera more than anything related to the iPad.

 

[E.Lizardo]

Why release something great that they are fully capable of building, when they can release a stripped down version for the same price? Then, every year, release a newer version that has one or two "improvements" or extras thrown in, and most of the idiots out there will buy it, every year. Hell of a business model, really. They'll call the camera a "advancement", even though they were fully capable of releasing it with version 1.0.

The car business was built on it.

 

[GeekLawyer]

I'm hopeful some unannounced features are waiting in the wings for the launch.

But, even if not, I'm going to buy the iPad on release. If people don't buy the first version, there may not be a future revision that includes all these "must-have" features. Maybe that means I'm playing into Apple's hands... but it's a risk I'm willing to take.

 

[Rocketman]

Let's concatonate several news items. iPhone OS (iPOS) supports front and back facing cameras, auto-focus and zoom, as well as video conferencing and group video-conferencing.

The stated V.1.0 release hardware does not support these features.

The news states initial pricing is soft and may have to be reduced after release.

Perhaps either the initial hardware will be better than announced, or more likely, version 2 will be good but version 1 will have price decreases.

Wouldn't Apple be better off releasing full value hardware along side the first release of any hardware? I agree.

Rocketman

 

[admanimal]

No one should buy the 2nd gen iPad that has a camera, either, because Apple will just screw us over again 3rd gen version with even more features! Those jerks!

 

[anthonymoody]

The center of the screen would be a more orientation-independent place to put a front-facing camera. That part at least seems to make sense.

Yup it also explains why it's not in the bezel

 

[floatingspirit]

I'm still buying it anyways....camera or not....the device is amazing....

Forget that. No camera, no buy.

 

[Wolfie Scooter]

Something's going to have a camera...

That's the trouble I have with all these iPad camera rumors: how has anybody confirmed they don't apply to the next iPhone (since they use the exact same OS)? I see this as indicating the next iPhone will have a front-facing camera more than anything related to the iPad.

That's exactly what I was thinking. With the OS performing these checks, it stands to reason that one or two of the new generation of the iPad / iPhone / iPod Touch has a forward-facing camera, and the other(s) don't.

 

[cvaldes]

Let's concatonate several news items. iPhone OS (iPOS) supports front and back facing cameras, auto-focus and zoom, as well as video conferencing and group video-conferencing.

The stated V.1.0 release hardware does not support these features.

The news states initial pricing is soft and may have to be reduced after release.

Perhaps either the initial hardware will be better than announced, or more likely, version 2 will be good but version 1 will have price decreases.

Wouldn't Apple be better off releasing full value hardware along side the first release of any hardware? I agree.

Rocketman

Frankly, I think that the chances of including unannounced hardware components into iPad 1.0 this late in the game are unlikely.

Also, I think that last minute prerelease price changes to published pricing are also unlikely. Apple has probably forecasted sales and margins for the new device. iPhone OS 3.x already supported some of the software features mentioned.

Other than those, your post has conjecture worth considering.

 

[E.Lizardo]

I waited 2 generations and got an iPhone 3GS, it was well worth the wait.

It looks as though I may have to wait until the 3rd Gen iPad for it to have all of the features and functionality it should have come with originally.

Apple did do a fine job with this last iMac though.

I really enjoyed my 1st and 2nd gen iPhones while you waited.

 

[fabulicious]

No one should buy the 2nd gen iPad that has a camera, either, because Apple will just screw us over again 3rd gen version with even more features! Those jerks!

So you buy a Lexus minivan. In the backseat you see a panel that says "For 3-D TV" on the interior rooftop, so you pull the drop-down panel down and there's nothing there. So you look closer and see there's a little sticker that says "Not in this model, sucker! Try again next year. hahaha Love, Lexus"

That's what this is. This little mocking sticker that says "we could have, but we didn't".

 

[gotohamish]

My goodness, some of you have so much venom and spite. It's entirely possible that the shipping rev.1 could still have a camera. And, speaking as someone who was at Jobs' introduction of the iPad and taking note of the reaction of bloggers there, here are three reasons why I think it's possible we'll see a camera in the first shipping model:

#1 Theoretically this SDK opens the floodgates to far too much public awareness that could possibly cannibalize sales until a future revision. That said, how many of the general public become aware of SDK features? Not many, but enough Apple/tech bloggers to write about (see, um, this site) and get people talking iPad again. Clever.

#2 While we all know Apple add features with each revision—as most companies do—it's also very un-Apple to allow future features to be public knowledge without a tactical reason. Smart.

And lastly, #3 The competition. Apple had to announce the iPad early, for developer reasons, and while they didn't want to overwhelm developers all at once, neither did they want to give the competition any time to catch up. By announcing new features so close to shipping time it means all the other companies hoping to be within spitting distance of an iPad clone, once again they fall far behind. Genius.

If in the next fortnight they announce pre-orders for the iPad, great, some people will write about that. If they announce even more features, hammering more nails in the competition, then that will be a PR show.

 

[E.Lizardo]

Well, for films and such, this may be true. But are they going to censor the content of books in their iBook store. I would imagine they will be selling books with images as well as text, since the iPad has such a beautiful screen. I can see photography books being sold in the platform. Will Apple be censoring what can be sold as a book on this device?

I'm guessing no,since books are content and not apps.Other content(movies,music)is not turned down(I won't say censor)due to content.Just my guess,but that would be consistent.