What Happened to the Camera on the New iPod touch?

Last week, Apple released the latest iPod touch. This started a minor mystery: why does this model not include the built-in camera it was supposed to?

There can be little doubt that Apple had originally intended to put a camera in the third generation of its handheld. When iSupply disassembled this device, it found an open spot in the design -- a spot that lines up with the camera on leaked images of early iPod touch prototypes.

So, why was the camera taken out? Was it a result of hardware or software problems? No one outside of Apple seems to know.

Looking Ahead
The fact that the internal design for the iPod touch has room to add a camera raises another question: will a new version of this device with a camera be released at some point?

The answer to this depends on the answer to the earlier question. If the camera was left out because of a technical problem, Apple could introduce a version with a camera as soon as the issue is ironed out.

On the other hand, if someone like Steve Jobs decided to take the camera out because he didn't think it was appropriate for the device, no camera is likely in the foreseeable future.

More about the iPod touch
For those who are unfamiliar with it, the iPod touch line is essentially an iPhone without the phone.

It has a slim tablet shape, with a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a built-in accelerometer and speaker.

It can run the same software that the iPhone can, and has emerged as one of the most popular mobile gaming platforms around.

The third-generation models are faster and have higher storage capacity than their predecessors -- up to 64 GB.

Source: iSupply