Dust off your eBay account, new iPads with cameras could be on their way

Dust off your eBay account, new iPads with cameras could be on their way

Good ol’ Apple Insider, doing what they do best, has either deduced that an iPad without FaceTime is a serious hole in Apple’s lineup, or they have a sneaky Apple person who’s “close to the matter” dropping hints in their ears.

Allegedly, Apple’s been working on an iPad with FaceTime already, and the typical 12 month long cycle that Apple goes through before they introduce new iOS models might not hold up this time—FaceTime capable iPads have already entered the advanced testing phases.

It has all the makings of a PR catastrophe. Will iPad users revolt because their new iPad has become outdated in only six months? We won’t deny the voracious appetite of the Apple faithful, but we’re sure plenty of them are going to feel a little snubbed if Apple decides to release a fancy new iPad sometime this calendar year.  A lot of people were pretty upset that the current iPad lacked a camera to begin with, and now that Apple’s planning on a releasing an iPad with a camera, it’s hard not to draw the conclusion that iPad version one was a cash grab.  Personally I don’t mind the update, and believe it’s the logical next step for the device.

Just last week I took a conference call on my iPad, using Skype, and immediately found myself wishing for an iChat, FaceTime capable device. The iPad has become a major communication device during my office hours. I have it sitting in a nice Joule stand, running Twitter all day, and then periodically running Mail. Being able to use it with FaceTime or an iChat-like program could easily turn the iPad into a new age VOIP telephone for the office, along side our desktop machines.

Does the iPad “need” a camera? Probably not, and most people won’t see a need to upgrade, but there’s also a big market out there that can already see the benefits of a camera on the device, and having that option is something we’d be willing to shell out for.

Article via Just Another iPad Blog

Photo Credit: ?muxu

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About Joshua Schnell

Man, Myth, and Legend, Joshua is the Editor-In-Chief, and founder of Macgasm. He produces two podcasts, Macgasm TV, and The AppOrchard, and can be heard on CBC Radio once every couple of years.

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Joe

I often wonder if competitors start these rumors to scare people into NOT buying the currently available equipment. My take? I find value in Apple products at any point in their lifecycle and am never scared to purchase because I have never thrown my money away. Case in point, I've gotten 2 new iPhones in 2 years and both times came out ahead of the game by simply selling on eBay. Same with 2 Macbook Pros. As an iPad owner I'd be ELATED to have a new one come out, and as a person people ask if they should buy now or wait I will tell them NOT to wait when it comes to Apple products. Apple doesn't tell you months in advance what their lifecycle is, and thats not all bad. It does cause thousands of blog rumors though - that gets tired and old fast.

This one I think is bunk. But if not, no big deal - consumers who are buying or have bought need not fear because their existing iPad will be just fine and if they want to upgrade they can without much effort or cost.

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Joshua Schnell

Same here, the only time I wait to make a purchase is if there's an upcoming keynote. I've been burned by that one before, but for the most part I purchase my tech when i need it, not based on upcoming release schedules.

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ToddT

I don't think I'll be yearning for a new iPad if FaceTime is the primary new feature. I already have FaceTime on my iPhone 4, with relatively few people with whom I can FaceTime and even fewer real needs to do it. When they open it up for use with iChat and others, I'll be using my MacBook Pro for video chats while working. In the rare chance I need to videochat outside the office, I'd be much more likely to use the the iPhone instead of the iPad.

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Joshua Schnell

You raise a good point, there aren't enough FaceTime capable devices to make the feature useful yet. It's for this reason alone that I could see Apple rushing another iPad through the steps to release. I don't have an iPhone 4 yet, so I may change my opinion when I get one, but I can really see a FaceTime capable iPad taking off.

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