iPhone to sport twin cameras?

There is never any shortage of pundits adding grist to the Apple rumour mill, but some contributions merit greater consideration than others.

One of the more noteworthy speculations of late comes from Kevin Rose, founder of the social news website Digg, who has said that the next incarnation of the iPhone will be capable of 'video chat'.

In particular, said Mr Rose, the new 3G iPhone, which will be capable of transferring information at much higher speeds, will be distinguished by a unique piece of hardware: it will have twin digital cameras - one facing the usual way, for photos, the other sitting behind the transparent touchscreen, so as to capture the owner.

The idea is that, with the much faster 3G network - and existing large screen, there will be an appetite to see the person one is phoning, rather than just hear them. This purported capability of the new device was lent weight by the fact that Apple was restricting third parties from developing applications that may compete with a mobile 'chat' feature it was developing, Mr Rose said.

Mr Rose has made predictions about Apple in the past - not all of them correct. In the lead up to the launch of the first iPhone last year, he suggested the device would have a slide-out keyboard and two separate battery compartments, neither of which materialised.

As the founder of one of the most respected web 2.0 starts in Silicon Valley, however, his comments - made on his weekly Podcast show 'Diggnation' on Friday - will be seized upon as one of the better educated guesses on record at the moment.

Pretty well nothing is known about Apple's long-awaited '3G iPhone', apart from that it is due out at some point this year.

The device, which is expected to be popular because of the widely held belief that the existing iPhone is restricted by its current, slower network, could be released as soon as June or July, according to one analyst's report.

Earlier this month, Apple released a 'software kit' which allow developers to write applications for the iPhone so that owners will have a broader range of features to choose from.

Comments

[Jorg]

What you call a "unique piece of hardware: [...] twin digital cameras" already exists on other manufacturers' phones such as the Nokia N95.

I happen to own an N95 and actually hate the bloody thing... and can't wait to use similar features on a 3G powered iPhone.

But unique this piece of hardware is not.

[John Allen]

I have to agree with Jorg. I have an iPhone and continue to be really pleased with it. I would certainly be interested in the next generation of iPhone. But having two cameras would not even be particularly distinctive, let alone unique. If Apple conceal it under the glass screen cover like they have with the light and proximity sensors in the current model, then that would certainly be more stylish and discreet than most other phones. But still not unique.

[Scott]

Something to note ... Kevin Rose's ideas aren't original. He actually got the twin camera thing from my blog, where I've mentioned it for months. But when people know the name and he doesn't give credit where credit is due, well, that's what happens.

I was over it 5 minutes after he did it, but perhaps Web sites like yours are interested in learning how these ideas really do come about.

[Roger Sinclair]

The iPhone as a product appeals to many people for 100 different reasons. The 3G will be a welcome rehash of their current product and I can't wait to get it.

The SDK really shows what's going to happen with so many downloads and EA announcing they'll make games. I mean, a TON of games already exist, check out http://iphonegaming.com to see for yourself. They have a few hundred games already.

June should be a good month :)

[D]

^

The Sony Ericsson K800i mobile 'phone I've had for more than 2 years is equipped with both 3G and the same two cameras. Indeed, its main camera has 3.2 megapixels, to the iPhone's 2 megapixels and its K850i successor introduced last year sports 5 megapixels.

Moreover, you can swap in a spare, charged battery when the one on-board runs out of juice (after a lot longer than even the non-3G iPhone's battery lasts) - which you can't do with an iPhone, the battery of which is sealed within it.

When an iPhone's battery runs down, you're stranded and 'phoneless.

(But I'm writing this very happily on an Apple Mac - which already comes with the user-facing mini camera installed!)

[Jon]

because 2 people never had the same idea? cmon now.

[dave]

I phone is fine: AT&T sucks. I'm ready to throw the thing in the trash.

[IKE]

Not sure the chat feature on a phone would be worth owning. It would only really be useful if everyone had the functionality (which they don't....). So again the iPhone is WAY OUT in front...this time probably alone in usefulness.

[Sandy]

Come on now... most phones have had this feature for 2-3 years and yet you're all excited about it coming to the iphone??

It only highlights how under equipped the current iphone is compared to the other high end phones on the market.

[ken clarke]

I agree, this technology has been around for some time, but apple are applying it to the device in a much better way (hidden behind a screen? Very cool!)
I love my iPhone on O2 and have not had any problems. My concern is how much this new 3g version will be (considering I paid £269 in January and that is still the current RRP) am I going to be able to eBay this one and get avoid return to invest in the new? Or will they be considerate and offer a special upgrade fee for us devoted apple users?? :-)
writing from my beautiful new iMac!

[Rob]

Twin cameras?
Like in my K800i?

The phone that cost me £80 with on monthly contract and to be fair i get a great deal off orange with free texts

I’m not saying I don’t want one but it’s a bit steep considering you’ve still got the contract

it’s a bit limited by apple in terms of 3rd party support,

and its not exactly a colossal amount for tunes - I’ve got 14 GB of albums before i get to mix stuff and singles
I know the k800i isn’t a contender but if its just twin cameras and 3G its all offered my many far less costly phones, and well if my iPod runs out of battery ill get home, if my phone does I could well have a problem, bearing in mind I’m prone to just unplugging my headphones or leaving them dangling thus discharging my battery in my iPod.

[Simon]

What's the date suckers?