iPhone 4's 5MP Camera Won't Fit in Current iPod Touch Design

[milo]

This story doesn't make much sense. They can just make the touch the same form factor as the iPhone. Even if that's a little bigger than the previous touch, nobody would care with the new features.

Apple realized it was stupid with the nano, and that it's not worth it.

Where did you get that idea? "Apple realized it was stupid"? Based on what?

And if people aren't excited about the camera in the nano, isn't it more likely because it only shoots video and not stills (and isn't great quality, which could be improved in the touch)?

 

[AppleMactablet]

Com'on people-youre making statements like you dont know Apple-Apple goes after a tarket market group with the device, the iPod nano target was the flip video camera, the ipod touch was gaming, I feel the ipod touch will get a camera in the back to bring something new to the gaming market that playstation and nintendon't-that's AR-Augmented reality, Facetime will come to but the focus will still be on gaming. And yes I think apple will mold the next ipod to fit the two camera-there not going to keep the current design.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

I would assume if the iPhone camera doesn't fit then it is a different camera. Does that make sense?

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

I would assume if the iPhone camera doesn't fit then it is a different camera. Does that make sense?

No. I'm pretty sure they'll just cram it harder.

 

[cvaldes]

I would assume if the iPhone camera doesn't fit then it is a different camera. Does that make sense?

The main issue is that a smaller part might not have the performance quality that Apple desires. That was allegedly the reason why the camera was dumped from last year's iPod touch.

That's also why the iPod nano's camera only does video, no still photography.

 

[powers74]

Zow!

Those 5MP cameras are going to have to get a little thinner before they show up in the iPT. No wonder competitor phones are so awkwardly lumpy. Apple has thin down to a fine art.

 

[tehreflex]

Maybe they'll change the design to either look like the iPhone 4 still as it is pretty damn thin. Or go with the old 3G/3GS body?

 

[PPietra]

Obviously you have never looked at an iPod touch in person. The curved body makes a huge difference. The thing is much smaller than an iPhone.

We are talking about measurements that someone made, there is nothing subjective about that! If someone says 6mm and another 8.5mm, there has to be a reason!
And comparing 8.5mm vs 9.3mm, it is small difference!! The curved surface is responsible for your perception of depth, and obviously there are points where the depth is much smaller!! But if your interested in cramming something inside you will look at the point with biggest depth!

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

We are talking about measurements that someone made, there is nothing subjective about that! If someone says 6mm and another 8.5mm, there has to be a reason!
And comparing 8.5mm vs 9.3mm, it is small difference!! The curved surface is responsible for your perception of depth, and obviously there are points where the depth is much smaller!! But if your interested in cramming something inside you will look at the point with biggest depth!

The depth isn't constant because of the curved back, that significantly reduces the volume of the device.

 

[Speedy2]

This story doesn't make much sense. They can just make the touch the same form factor as the iPhone. Even if that's a little bigger than the previous touch, nobody would care with the new features.

You do realise that the iPhone 4 is actually thinner than the 3GS even if it may look thicker? They are never going to make the iPod thicker. This is Apple we're talking about. People who want a camera must buy the iPhone, that's the easy thought behind it. If you disagree, they don't care.

 

[crackbookpro]

Verizon will have an iPhone before a camera is on the iPod Touch...

I hate to say it, but that's what's gonna happen.

 

[firewood]

Couldn't it also be possible that there exists a camera module that is slightly thinner than the one found in iPhone 4?

There are lots of camera modules thinner than the one in the i4. But since they have smaller lenses, they either have less pixels, like the front facing camera, or a lot of really crappy pixels that are usually even worse than having fewer pixels (because that just produces bigger files with blurrier and noisier images).

Unless you want to punch a hole in the glass front, there's a lot less room inside than the exterior dimension. A 2 or 3 megapixel camera module (with a decent lens & pixels) might fit the space remaining.

Is that worth it? Or is it more important to keep the price of the Touch low?

 

[Striker-UMB]

My prediction is: Front facing camera for Face-Time, 64GB max.

No rear-facing camera, no GPS. Retina display maybe... is not really essential in the iPod Touch, but maybe they'll use it because is thinner...

Keeping the same price point is the main problem with all these new features but, if the iPhone can do it...

How is the Retina display not essential for the iPod Touch??? The whole point of the retina display is for crisper images, crisp near perfect text and an all around better web browsing experience as well. Isn't that the whole point of owning an Ipod Touch, for the music, web browsing and multi media features such such as photos, videos and apps?? Its up to Apple in the end if they want to give up more of what makes the iPhone so unique, but don't say its not essential for a device that's main purpose is multimedia.

I can't see Apple adding a rear facing camera, mainly because pretty much the majority of people who own ipods also own a cell phone or smart phone that already have a camera/Video Recorder on them. Apple won't want to give the iPod all of the iPhone's features, what would be the point of buying an iPhone if you can get the same device minus the the phone portion and contract. If anything I only see Apple adding a front facing camera not only for face time, but i'm sure other apps will make great use of the front facing camera as well.

 

[wizard]

I would rather have the thinner device.

I'd rather take pictures than use FaceTime.

This in a nut shell is Apple problem you won't make everybody happy. To that end I think a small compact Touch is of greater interest than one with a camera. The smart thing for Apple to do would be to introduce multiple models. One smaller than the current Touch and one larger. The larger being more fully featured especially with respect to gaming. A camera on the larger device would then be a no brainer.

Whatever happens I'm expecting a major overhaul to the entire iPod lineup. For many of the iPods Apple has completely forgotten about form and function. The shuffle is a good example. Further iPods can't just shut down because it is to hot!

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Apple won't want to give the iPod all of the iPhone's features, what would be the point of buying an iPhone if you can get the same device minus the the phone portion and contract. If anything I only see Apple adding a front facing camera not only for face time, but i'm sure other apps will make great use of the front facing camera as well.

If you want a phone.... Not everyone wants to carry an iPod touch around, I would much rather have an iPhone for simplicity's sake.

 

[huntercr]

Why is this so hard for people to fathom?

I can't beleive I keep seeing articles like this. How on Earth is this not a no- brainer?

The new iPod touch will be exactly like the iPhone 4 in form factor and ( most of the ) guts. Why on earth would it be anything different? Sometimes I think stuff like this is planted.

Think about it this way... why would apple waste manufacturing capacity on keeping the two diverged? You might say because the 3GS is still alive, but the 3GS doesn't have a forward facing camera.. so you'd have 3 seperate designs... that's just silly.

And ask yourself also from a consumer perspective Why would people want to buy a new model ( and pay top dollar ) that looks like an old model?

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

I can't beleive I keep seeing articles like this. How on Earth is this not a no- brainer?

The new iPod touch will be exactly like the iPhone 4 in form factor and ( most of the ) guts. Why on earth would it be anything different? Sometimes I think stuff like this is planted.

Think about it this way... why would apple waste manufacturing capacity on keeping the two diverged? You might say because the 3GS is still alive, but the 3GS doesn't have a forward facing camera.. so you'd have 3 seperate designs... that's just silly.

And ask yourself also from a consumer perspective Why would people want to buy a new model ( and pay top dollar ) that looks like an old model?

Did you not care to look up the iPod touch history before posting this drivel? It has never looked like an iPhone and for a few generations it has looked the exact same.

 

[akm3]

If you've made something so thin that you can't include desired functionality; THEN YOU'VE MADE IT TOO THIN!

It's not impressive how thin something is compared to something else if it can't do all the same things.

 

[wizard]

Apple could go the other way and put a far better camera in Touch.

How would it do that? It is pretty simple, put an aluminum back on the Touch with a bump molded in for the thicker camera module. This would allow the majority of the Touch to remain thin while giving Apple far more options. One option could be a real optical zoom which can be extremely valuable.

With careful engineering and attention to details the bump won't look bad at all. Until we get quantum dot based sensors (three years) the only option Apple has to improved camera performance is larger devices and optics. Done right such a Touch could do significant damage to the compact camera industry.

I'm not really thrilled about the Touch taking on the iPhones form factor. I'd rather see Apple get more creative here and offer up devices with different physical sizes. Especially a physically smaller Touch (Basic) and a larger Touch (gaming and e-book reading). The larger Touch could have an advanced camera without issue.




Dave

 

[iAlex]

Does Apple still make computer products? Where do I go for coverage of those?

 

[Reddkryten]

I have a question, when the A4 chip was introduced, a lot of people called it a system on a chip.

Could A4 chip free up some space inside the device to make room for the camera? Obviously the iPod Touch will have to get a little thicker, but I think more of us are already expecting that.

 

[341328]

Microphone

It better have a built in microphone - I don't want to have to use some headphone crap!

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

How would it do that? It is pretty simple, put an aluminum back on the Touch with a bump molded in for the thicker camera module. This would allow the majority of the Touch to remain thin while giving Apple far more options. One option could be a real optical zoom which can be extremely valuable.

With careful engineering and attention to details the bump won't look bad at all. Until we get quantum dot based sensors (three years) the only option Apple has to improved camera performance is larger devices and optics. Done right such a Touch could do significant damage to the compact camera industry.

I'm not really thrilled about the Touch taking on the iPhones form factor. I'd rather see Apple get more creative here and offer up devices with different physical sizes. Especially a physically smaller Touch (Basic) and a larger Touch (gaming and e-book reading). The larger Touch could have an advanced camera without issue.




Dave

Apple will never do a hump and there already is a big iPod touch, it's called an iPad.

 

[wovel]

No. I'm pretty sure they'll just cram it harder.

Or trim it like the sim card of a person who can't be bothered to call tech support.

Does Apple still make computer products? Where do I go for coverage of those?

Yes and they cover them here all the time. It has only been like 2 months since my new MBP came out. There was a story in the past few days on the new video drivers in OSX possibly indicating new Mac Pros coming. I think maybe your not looking very hard.. (I know this is where you say it was sarcasm, I will pre-reply by telling you it was not particularly good sarcasm ).

 

[huntercr]

Did you not care to look up the iPod touch history before posting this drivel? It has never looked like an iPhone and for a few generations it has looked the exact same.

I think you've misread what I wrote, or I'm misreading you now.
I am claiming the iPod touch always looks the same as the similar generation of iPhone and always has nearly the same feature set and technology.

I was complaining that several articles floating around the rumor sites act like Apple might not give the iPod touch Gen 4 the new iPhone hardware and design. Of course they will.. they always do.