If you saw someone clutching an iPad 2 at an Apple press event, what would you do? Well, obviously you'd take the owner to the nearest Bavarian bar and get the beers in. But you'd take a photo first, wouldn't you? Sadly, if you're "a Reuters eyewitness", you wouldn't.
The news service claims its source spotted an iPad 2 at last night's launch of The Daily, Rupert Murdoch's new iPad news app. The device appeared to be working, with a front-facing camera at the top edge of its glass screen, Reuters reports, before hedging its bets and claiming that "the final release model could have other features". Well, you'd hope so.
The existence of a working iPad 2 with a camera is hardly a surprise, although the fact that an Apple staffer was blithely strolling around a roomful of journalists with one is rather more shocking.
Elsewhere online, 9 to 5 Mac claims to have procured a Chinese screen that's part of the batch destined for the iPad 2. It reports that the display is lighter and more than 1mm thinner than the screen from the first-generation iPad, although it hasn't managed to establish what pixel resolution the new screen has. Which, if we're honest, is the really important question.
The fact that the iPad 2 will have at least one camera barely qualifies as a secret any more, but if you need more confirmation, check out this job listing from Apple, which is recruiting an iOS photography software engineer to work at its Cupertino headquarters.
"Apple's Digital Photography team is looking for a dynamic software engineer with the drive and desire to deliver great photography applications for the Mac and iPad platforms," explains the ad. "As a member of the team, you will help us with text rendering and editing and HTML generation for publishing and viewing photo-based content."
AppleInsider spotted the job listing, and suggests that whoever gets the job may end up working on Apple's new Photo Stream service, which has been tipped for inclusion in a future update of the iOS software to help people share their photos.
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Comments 4
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J4M35 3 February, 2011 18:24
I'll get the iPad 2 (I didn't get the first) if it at least has the following features:
-Improved, optically laminated display like the iPhone 4
-Same cameras as the iPhone 4
-Gyroscope like the iPhone 4
-Dual core GPU & CPU
-At least 512mb of RAM, but really it needs 1GB (there are smart phones with 1GB!)
-Slimmer, lighter design
Anonymous 3 February, 2011 21:16
The job ad could be for ANY number of digital photo devices or applications Apple sells. Are we really so strapped for news we have to dig this far down?
Dean Shepherd 4 February, 2011 04:49
J4M35 Im pretty sure it was stated in earlier articles that it will be fitted with a 1.3 Megapixel cam on the back and a simple VGA on the front...on par with the touch, not the iphone...
J4M35 4 February, 2011 20:49
Dean Shepherd I was saying what I want the iPad 2 to have, and what I think it should have. I wasn't saying it will have those features, although it could do. The crappy, same as iPod Touch camera (which is 0.7mp, not 1.3mp) isn't official. If it does have such a poor camera, then I and many others will probably get a better tablet.