For the past several years, Apple has gathered in September to launch its newest iPod products for the holiday-shopping season.
(Credit:
Apple)
Rumors have been circling for some time that Apple would refresh its iPod lineup this fall--and that cameras would be coming to the iPod Nano and iPod Touch models. And a September 9 event is all but confirmed. A Wednesday report by AppleInsider "can independently confirm" from "people familiar with the matter" the date and the expected iPod updates.
AppleInsider didn't cite sources for the rumor confirmations but said it "has it on authority." Along with Boy Genius Report and other rumor sites, AppleInsider has also speculated that iTunes 9 will debut in September and add social networking to the music organizer, among other changes.
A new digital-album format is also expected to debut in September. Code-named Cocktail, Apple's new album format is rumored to include photos, lyric sheets, liner notes, and clips from music videos.
It also seems clear at this point is that an Apple tablet will not make its debut during the September event.
The new iPod Touch could have very similar features to the iPhone 3G S.
(Credit: Apple)Apple is getting ready to launch a new iPod Touch with a built-in camera and microphone, according to former CNET editor and MP3 Insider Eliot Van Buskirk, who now writes a Wired blog.
This rumor has been circulating for a while, but Van Buskirk writes: "A well-connected source tells us those rumors are on the money, and that Apple's factories in China are already manufacturing iPod Touch models with integrated cameras and microphones."
The short piece talks up the fact that with inclusion of a microphone and a quick download of Skype for iPhone, the iPod Touch would become a nifty VoIP phone wherever you can get a Wi-Fi connection. The new iPod would most likely be enhanced with voice commands just as the iPhone is.
There's nothing in the post about the possibility of a 64GB iPod Touch, but we're still counting on Apple to produce one when the line is upgraded--most likely this fall. (Last year's new Touch roll out was September 10.) A lot of folks are hoping Apple will introduce a jumbo iPod Touch/Netbook in September as well.
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Additional reading: Is iPod Touch getting a camera?
One of the features that iPod Touch users have been requesting from Apple is a camera. According to reports, they may be getting their wish.
Apple's iPhone 3GS still-camera autofocus feature.
(Credit: Apple)While attributing its information only to a "sources in Asia," TechCrunch claims that Apple has placed an order for camera modules destined for the next version of the iPod Touch. The size of the order, according to TechCrunch, is "massive."
MacRumors is taking the camera information a step further, claiming that both the iPod Touch and iPod Nano will receive cameras when they are updated. New case designs, purportedly for the iPods, show a hole for the camera.
This isn't the first time rumors of iPods getting a camera have come up. In May, AppleInsider said that iPods would get cameras similar to those found in iPhones.
At this point the only handheld device from Apple with a camera is the iPhone. All three models of the iPhone come with a one.
In addition to its 3-megapixel still camera, the iPhone 3GS includes video recording and basic video-editing software, which allows chunks of video to be uploaded to YouTube or MobileMe.
The camera in Apple's upcoming iPhone 3G S sports not just video, but also some new features besides the usual not-so-useful bump in megapixels.
The phone, available next week in the United States and some other countries, comes with a 3-megapixel camera compared to the current iPhone 3G's 2 megapixels. It can shoot video at 30 frames per second at VGA (640x480) resolution, matching competing phones and addressing a shortcoming of the current phones.
Videos can be edited on the iPhone 3G S by trimming the sequence of still images taken from the video.
(Credit: Apple)But the iPhone 3G S can do more than just shoot video, said Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, at the company's Apple Worldwide Developer Conference here. People can share videos through e-mail, MMS, Apple's MobileMe service, and YouTube.
And taking advantage of the iPhone's relatively powerful hardware, people can "scrub" through a video--that is, click and drag to fast-forward and rewind--as they watch to jump to the spot they want. Likewise, they can trim videos to pare back to the desired portion. The scrubbing and trimming uses an interface that displays the video as a filmstrip sequence of still frames.
The iPhone 3G S also includes still camera upgrades for the photography crowd--and it should be noted that the iPhone rivals SLRs for activity on Yahoo's Flickr photo-sharing site, outpacing all mobile phones and all but one actual camera.
First is autofocus. Mobile phones' tiny image sensors often mean everything is in focus whether you want it to be or not, but the iPhone 3G S will let come with autofocus to try to ensure that the right part of the image is sharp. A feature called "tap to focus" lets people tap on the screen image to focus the camera on a particular part of the image--foreground or background, for example.
Yahoo's Flickr site puts the iPhone head and shoulders above other mobile phones for popularity on the photo-sharing site.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)Coming along with autofocus is an automacro mode, too, for close-up shots, Schiller said.
Apple also said the new phone has better low-light performance--a common bugaboo not merely for mobile phone cameras but for regular point-and-shoot models as well.
The iPhone 3G S will cost $199 for a 16GB model and $299 for a 32GB model, Apple said. Other features include better battery life and faster performance.
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