iPods With Video Cameras? Sure. iPods With Projectors? I’m Skeptical.
By Harry McCracken | Monday, July 6, 2009 at 10:27 am
Judging the accuracy of Apple rumors may not be a cakewalk, but one technique is surprisingly effective and obvious: Ask yourself if past Apple history suggests that a rumor sounds like something the company would do. By that measure, the current rumors about iPod Touch and Nano models with built-in video cameras sounds entirely plausible. The iPhone 3GS‘s camera shows Apple has invested in video-recording hardware and software. It’s gradually been turning every iPod except for the screenless Shuffle into a video device. And given that a high percentage of people who want iPods own them by now, Apple could use a strikingly new feature with wide appeal to tempt them to upgrade.
On the other hand, I’d be surprised if concurrent rumors about Apple getting ready to build projectors into iPhones and iPods are the real deal. Projectors may be getting tinier, but they aren’t yet teensy enough to cram into a phone or MP3 player that’s as thin as the ones Apple likes to make. And how often would a real person want to project an image from an iPhone or iPod in the real world? Not all that often, surely. Apple history shows that it’s not all that interested in adding exotic features that won’t be used much, and is almost never the first company to embrace a new technology. (It tends to cheerfully sit on the sidelines while other companies make bleeding-edge products that are noble in their ambitions but frustrating in practice.)
I’m not saying that there will never be Apple handheld devices with built-in projectors, but I don’t think we’re a couple of months away from seeing them. And a couple of months from now is almost certainly when Apple will announce its new lineup of iPods. Any guesses (or wishes) about what the Fall 2009 lineup of iPods will involve?
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Fifteen Questions Prompted by Today’s Apple Event | Technologizer Says:
September 9th, 2009 at 1:24 pm[…] See all: News It seems to be a mandatory component of the kabuki that is Apple press events and coverage thereof: Nearly every such product rollout is initially dismissed as a disappointment. Despite the welcome return of Steve Jobs, this morning’s one certainly is certainly getting lukewarm reviews, in part because it failed to involve even such relatively mundane rumored gizmos as an iPod Touch with a camera. […]
July 6th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
I don’t know about the camera on the iPod rumor. That may be one of those hardware distinctions to separate the iPod Touch further from the iPhone. Projection, maybe. It would certainly make the “Now Playing” screen easier on older eyes.
July 10th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I think the ‘internal’ projector idea’s implementation is novel for now… really cool 3rd party hardware for this is to be released in the fall ,see this from the site- http://www.phonesuit.com/products/MiLi_Pro_iPhone_iPod_Video_Projector-18-10.html or the article- http://www.macworld.com/article/141434/2009/06/milipro.html .
When the iPhone and itouch come closer to being an actual 100% whole computer in your hand, maybe we’ll be asking the question about an available mouse, so you can move the curser around on a +40″ projected image, ultra cool.
All that can be done now from these two, is to reach out and control your computer @ home, and view/control it on screen, a few apps. exist for this i.e.- http://www.pc2me.net/ or http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/timbuktupro_motorola.html
Apple just keeps making intoxicating products
December 10th, 2009 at 11:25 am
I think an in-built projector would be a fabulous idea. It would be handy for kids watching movies on the roof of the car or in bed. It would also be handy when showing your photos to a group. With alot of you-tubing happening on the ipod touch, more people could watch video clips at the same time without having to cram around a tiny screen.