Here’s another leak for all you gadget hungry people — Apple’s iPod Touch 4 has leaked through a case maker. Even though we do not have any specs on it yet, from the dummy we can tell that this thing will be looking quite different from what the iPhone 4 looks like. It still retains the more rounded feel of the older iPhone designs. Also, it seems like it has a rounded back to it, like the older models. The reasons behind this decisions can be many but the most likely one, suggested by the original reporter at HardMac, could be the right one — the glas back that the new iPhone has is quite hard to make. And with demands for Apple handhelds skyrocketing all the time; they are sure to have a hard time making enough to cover the supply. Then there’s also the front glass screen to worry about.
The original report at HardMac vouches for their source, saying that it is the same one that had tipped them off about the iPod Nano getting a camera. So we can take their word for it and treat this as a genuine leak and not a good photoshop job.
And there’s another news that will excite many — it has a camera. After the iPod Nano got a camera last year while the iPod Touch did not, many were put off by it. However, there were talks of the camera being scrapped for the iPod Touch at the last moment for some technical difficulties. Logically this was always the next step for Apple with the device, so many of us were certain that a camera will be included in the next upgrade. There’s also the issue with the iPod Touch cannibalizing iPhone sales at that time, which might have been another reason for them to keep the iPod Touch less appealing.
The Current iPod Touch
However, now that the iPhone 4 is so much more than what the iPhone 3Gs was, Apple can safely go ahead and add a camera to the next-generation iPod Touch. They have also had a lot of lab time in the interim to finish packing a camera in the device.
Other than the addition of the camera, nothing else is known about the upcoming upgrade of the iPod Touch. Case makers are given dummy models to help them design their products ahead of the release. This prevent them from knowing anything about the internal workings of the model, other than such obvious signs like the camera.
Apple has been pushing the iPod Touch in the direction of a handheld gaming device more than just another multimedia player. Steve Jobs himself has admitted that common MP3 players do not have much life left in them and are soon going to fade out. Mainly because almost personal, mobile gadget can plays songs and often videos. Even in the midst of the Apple top brass disliking the iPod Touch being turned into a gaming device, Apple has been doing pretty well in the segment.
It's quite popular amongst casual gamers
This fact is supported not only by what Apple has been saying at its press releases and presentations but it is also apparent in the way handheld gaming device manufacturers like Sony (PSP) and Nintendo (DS, 3DS, DS XL) are reacting. Handheld gaming has mostly been for casual gamers and it is in this segment that Apple is doing very well with its iPhones and iPod Touch’s. Apple has already made the iPod Touch go a different route than the iPhone by adding gaming specific support to it like Open GL and not adding it to the iPhone. With the A4 in Apple’s arsenal, we might be seeing a hugely powerful iPod Touch coming out next. And that would be quite the thing.
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