iPhone To Have A Front Facing Camera?
April 20, 2009 by Ryan Ray
This was the biggest rumor in the months leading to the iPhone 3G launch. So many people were convinced that the iPhone would have a front facing camera. Made specially for video chatting. The iPhone was going to go 3G so video chatting was and still is entirely possible. I remember just about every rumor site had a mock up of what the new iPhone would look like, video camera and all. Personally I didn’t see and still don’t really see the need to video chat with the iPhone. To me it seems as if it’s more of a novelty for the iPhone than anything truly useful. This may be in part why Apple hasn’t put a camera on the front. We all know though that Apple changes their mind from time to time, and apparently this patent is proof of that. Will we see this come to life on the next generation of the iPhone or any iPhone, I don’t know only time will tell. So let’s check out what this is about.
Last week this image along with the patent description was posted on Macrumors and many other sites. The patent simply describes a way for the iPhone to make the screen more readable when in motion. Something along the lines of it compensating for the movement and proximity of your face to the screen. Here is the official text from the patent;
One problem with existing portable media devices such as cellular telephones is that users can become distracted from other activities while interfacing with the media device’s video display, graphical user interface (GUI), and/or keypad. For example, a runner may carry a personal media device to listen to music or to send/receive cellular telephone calls while running. In a typical personal media device, the runner must look at the device’s display to interact with a media application in order to select a song for playing. Also, the user likely must depress the screen or one or more keys on its keypad to perform the song selection. These interactions with the personal media device can divert the user’s attention from her surroundings which could be dangerous, force the user to interrupt her other activities, or cause the user to interfere with the activities of others within her surroundings. A user of a device can interact with the graphical user interface by making contact with the touch-sensitive display. The device, being a portable device, can also be carried and used by a user while the user is in motion. While the user and the device is in motion, the user’s dexterity with respect to the touch-sensitive display can be disrupted by the motion, detracting form the user’s experience with the graphical user interface.
With all of that said, here is where the language gets interesting. This is the mention of the front camera.
The mobile device 100 can also include a camera lens and sensor 180. In some implementations, the camera lens and sensor 180 can be located on the back surface of the mobile device 100. The camera can capture still images and/or video.
From simple reading to me it says. The iPhone has a camera, and in some instances the camera can be located on the back of the device. Potentially this means all of our dreams of video chatting could be coming to fruition soon. Unless that is Apple cripples the device and is only allowed for use in this motion sensing way. I wouldn’t put it past them. Especially after finding out our iPhone 3G’s are capable of MMS and bluetooth stereo. It’s just been held back by the software.
In the end I’ll be eventually buying the new iPhone with or without the front facing camera. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it as a novelty, as others will use it on a constant basis. Now, what are your own thoughts on having a camera on the front of the iPhone and will you want video conferencing? Thanks for reading.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Ranked #151 out of 205 posts (with 16.67 points) ?
Related Articles:
Comments
Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!