Rumors of the third generation iPod touch getting a camera — even video camera — is nothing new, however Wired.com now claims they may be getting a built-in microphone as well:
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. An Apple spokesman declined to comment when reached by phone.
With the addition of video to Camera, and the Voice Memo app, combined with a built-in mic making VoIP even easier, we’ll come out and say it — ultimate non-phone handset is nigh.
Apple typically unveils new iPod touch models once a year at their special music event, alongside other iPods and related announcements — which last time, at Let’s Rock included the iPhone 2.1 firmware and iTunes 8.
Is this a triumph? Portal running on an iPhone? Not really, according to Gizmodo:
The video says the demo was made using the Unity Engine, which means they took some Portal assets and made a small demo with them. They didn’t take the full game and squish it onto the iPhone; what you see is probably the entire thing. There’s no way the Source Engine is running on the 3G. Maybe the 3GS, but not the 3G.
Not yet! But we figure they’ll keep on trying until they run out of cake… or Valve pulls an ID an actually releases a game for the new 40+ million unit iPhone/iPod touch platform. Right Valve?
Could the iPod touch and iPod nano also be getting in on the camera action? We’ve heard the rumor before but evidence continues to mount with Techcrunch claiming:
One of our sources in Asia say that Apple has placed an order for a massive number of camera modules of the type that they include in the iPhone. These are inexpensive cameras, in the $10 range. And the size of the order, our source says, means they can only be used for one thing – the iPods.
As Dieter mentioned on iPhone Live! a camera is such a natural fit for the iPod touch that it’s hard to imagine Apple not doing it at this point. Adding video recording, editing, and sharing (along with the beefier chipset) also seems like a no-brainer port from the already-enabled iPhone 3GS. Even if Apple sticks with VGA resolution, users who want highly portable video recording might easily take the iPod integration over the better quality of a dedicated device like a Flip Mino HD.
Macrumors is also showing off a case that, if real, re-enforces the iPod nano camera rumors as well. Absent the iPod touch interface and processor power, however, it’s hard to see that being functional for anything but still photography. That being said, it remains a great way for Apple to keep moving the traditional iPod line forward even as it approaches market saturation.
Well, well, what do we have here? Seems one Britney Spears is using an iPhone in her new music video, Radar. Leanna assures us it’s at the very beginning, so if your head is turned more by gadgets than starlets, you can get your fix early before you lose an ear or anything.
However, if you love some Britney vids, enjoy the double pop-culture dose.
Firemint has put up the above video tech demo of their Real Racing game running optimized for an iPhone 3GS and…. wow.
“Since the game uses a high fidelity physics engine, adding cars is a good test for pushing the hardware. We started our tech demo with 8 cars on the track, then 10, 12, 16 and 20, and the 3GS still didn’t break a sweat,” wrote Firemint’s Alexandra Peters. “We finally stopped when we got to 40 cars on the track at the same time, still with no perceptible drop in frame rate. We think the results are mind blowing.”
No plans to release an iPhone 3GS version yet but again, that’s a switch that some developer will no doubt throw at some point.
Either an iPhone 3GS was dropped in a pool and kept on recording, or as Richard Lai demonstrates in this second video [NSFW-L] someone was smart enough to cover it in plastic wrap first.
You can decide for yourselves, but we’re not letting our iPhone’s anywhere near water without full deep sea gear and a mini sub…
Steve Ellington from the theautomaticfilmmaker.com let us know that he’d shot the above music video entirely on the new iPhone 3GS. While Ellington had fun filming the little robot, he was also “quite impressed with the camera.”
CBS4 in South Florida must also have been impressed. They claimed the “new iPhone good enough for the evening news” when a producer shot a segment entirely on Apple’s latest handset as well.
While RED likely has nothing to fear — yet! — citizen journalism and individual creativity are likely in for a huge, Jobsian boom!
DirectFix let us know they’ve posted the first video with step-by-step tear down and build back up directions for Apple’s new iPhone 3GS. They also passed along that:
DirectFix.com already has replacement LCD screens and touch panels available on its website. We expect our first inquiries in the following days, as there are always some that almost immediately drop their new iPhones.
Here’s hoping not though. Keep your new iPhones safe!
Throwing any last remnants of fragile self-consciousness to the four winds, I break out my subpar French and very rusty Italian and Mandarin Chinese (Aiya!) and see if, even under the onslaught of terrible accents, Apple’s new iPhone 3G S Voice Control can still do as it’s told.
Note: the accent appears to be key. If you say a command in French, you can’t pronounce the following name English-style and expect good results (though Chinese seemed much more English name tolerant). However, I tried some (poorly rendered) regional accents at the very end and that didn’t seem to be a problem.
If you’re multilingual, or have a colorful twang to your speech, give it a try and let us know how Voice Control works for you!
AT&T (via MacRumors) has posted a video of iPhone 3G S getting dressed up for its big debut tomorrow morning. If you ordered from them Empire, one of those just might be yours!
TiPb will be in line tomorrow. If you see any of us, say hello! And make sure you join us here on the blog and in the forums so we can all share pictures and updates on what’s come to be the yearly Super Bowl of gadget releases.
