Hmm, I don't know how much weight this prediction holds. Dual camera seems kinda redundant to me and not very cost effective. Unless they bump up the quality of the still camera and use a dedicated lower quality VGA resolution camera for the video portion that would not add too much to the overall cost, then I can see this coming to fruition.

I don't care if it's just wishful thinking on his part or just to get more hits on his site or whatever. To me, it sounds like a great idea to have a videoconferencing iPhone for social and business interaction. The only problem now that the hype has started, if the 2-camera model doesn't get announced, then there's going to be a major letdown.

No doubt about it, Kevin Rose has stirred up a hornet's nest. He'll be condemned as a liar and an idiot. That's the price you pay for making off-the-wall statements based on probably somebody having a happy dream.

I agree - while it sounds cool it doesn't sound very practical and would tax the battery. And based on the Apple's history, I don't see a removable battery in the iPhone's future to offset this.

I don't think it's anything surprising, let alone off the wall. A vast majority of 3G phones have 2 cameras, one for video-conferencing and another for regular photo-taking like the current iPhone camera.

Likewise, video chat is not a rarity at all. It's not commonly used in many places due to high data charges, but the feature is already supported on most/all 3G phones.

If anything, perhaps this tells us that his 'sources' are mostly just educated guesses based on industry trends or just his wish-list.


That said, one unique detail is that the front-facing camera is supposed to be behind the 'transparent' touchscreen. Again, could just be culled from the old Apple patent filing. But it's really interesting nonetheless.

Two cameras on the phone has been a standard feature on 3G phones in the UK/Europe for several years. Probably even longer than that in Asian countries. Why are people making such a song and dance about this?

I don't know. In the end I think that a double sided camera is the only solution that will ultimately make sense. Turn the single camera towards the viewer and it's usefulness for taking photos is diminished; leave it the way it is and forget video conferencing (outside of the crazy mirror contraption that was posted on youtube last year).

I don't think back-to-back cameras will take up any more power. Either one or the other will be on when it's appropriate application is required. In fact, it may be useful to be able to switch cameras during a video iChat, if you want to show someone something you're looking at.

This was really the only hardware limitation I saw when the camera was announced, and will be a logical upgrade for V2, especially at 3G speeds.

I don't know how much to believe this specific guy, but I hope he's right.

Just like that version of the iPhone he said he saw with the slide out keyboard & 2 batteries?

http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/12/03...om-kevin-rose/

The digg guys are tools, I wouldn't listen to a word he has to say.

When video conferencing gets added to the iPhone, video chat between iPhone users and computer-based iChat users is a must.