Including a video camera in the new iPhone 3GS was an inspired move by Apple, and one which has increased the number of mobile uploads on YouTube. How much more inspired it would be to also include a video camera on the iPod Touch and other models. It could have a huge impact on the world of online video.
IPhone 3GS Video
The recently-released iPhone 3GS includes some fantastic video features. The device includes a 3 megapixel camera which is capable of recording video at near-HD quality with full audio and at 30 frames-per-second. What’s more, there is some excellent basic editing software included as standard which also allows captured clips to be uploaded to YouTube and the like with ease.
This inclusion of a good quality video camera in the iPhone is a worry for video camera manufacturers, because if this sort of device is available in a smartphone, where is the need to buy a product which costs more and is only capable of doing that one job? However, the iPhone is still a costly prospect for most people thanks to the monthly contract required to use one.
IPod Touch Video
This isn’t the case for the iPod Touch, the product which has almost everything in common with the iPhone, apart of course from the phone part, with the Touch instead focused on being a multimedia device you can carry in your pocket. Imagine what would happen if Apple decided to put a video camera inside each and every iPod Touch, and possibly other flavors of iPod as well.
This is the latest rumor to have hit the InterWebs. TechCrunch claims a source in Asia is reporting that Apple has recently placed a massive order for the camera modules of the type used in the iPhone 3GS. The order is said to be so large it can only be intended for the next generation of iPods. MacRumors has added weight to this theory with the posting of alleged new designs for the new iPod Touch and iPod Nano, both of which have holes intended for camera lenses to poke out of.
Immediate Effects
If true, this would firstly have a huge impact on the video camera market because millions of iPods are sold every single month, and who would buy a more expensive video camera when they could just upgrade their iPod and get a whole bunch of other features thrown in for the price?
The other obvious impact would be on the amount of people suddenly able to flex their creative muscle and shoot reasonably good looking video on a mobile device. Video shot on a crappy cellphone camera is one thing, video shot on a smartphone or personal media player is quite another. Mobile uploads to YouTube would likely increase by a huge amount once again.
Conclusions
Apple could quite easily corner this particular market while killing another one off if it chooses to go down this route. And as there’s no real reason why the company wouldn’t, it seems likely the speculation will prove to be correct in the months to come. Mobile video is about to come of age, and as with so many other markets, Apple is at the forefront of making it mainstream.
iPod Touch Products on eBay
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