iPod Touch 3G has been released. The truth is out! But what is the truth?

So at the 09/09/09 Apple “It’s only rock & roll” event, Apple announced the new 3.1 Software Update for the iPhone /iPod Touch. They then announced price cuts for the iPod Touch range. The 8GB is now only $199 (£149) but is still the same and has no hardware updates.

The 16GB has been scrapped but the 32GB still remains and will now cost you $299 (£229). But they now have a 64GB version that will set you back $399 (£299). The price cuts are pretty significant but I can’t see the 64GB selling as well as the others, especially with the high price tag.

The 32GB and 64GB versions now have faster processors and run OpenGL ES 2 which will make the new Touch 50% faster than its predecessor. OpenGL ES 2 is also run on the iPhone making the new Touch 3G and the iPhone 3GS the same speed.

So before the keynote, strong rumours were going around suggesting that a 64GB version would be announced and also a faster processor would be included, and the rumours turned out to be true. But there was one more, even stronger rumour going around that a new camera would be included on the touch, and did that happen? No!

Because of this, a lot of people were disappointed but not me. I mean, do not get me wrong, a camera on the ipod touch would make it even better but surely, a camera would practically make it an iPhone. In addition, before the keynote, there were 4 main things missing from the touch that would effectively make it the same as an iPhone. These were a faster processor, a camera, voice control and an actual phone feature. The faster processor and voice control have now installed onto the Touch and if a camera was included, it would mean that the only thing separating the Touch and the iPhone would be the phone itself.

Many iPhone owners have said that if they knew a camera was going to be put onto the iPod Touch, they would just buy the iPod Touch and get something like a Palm Pre.

So where did the camera go? Well apple have in fact installed a video camera onto the new iPod Nano 5g and this was also announced at the 09/09/09 event.

So what was apple’s reason for not installing a camera on the iPod Touch? Well Steve Jobs basically said that they were not sure how to market the iPod Touch but they eventually decided that it is a gaming device. Because of this they saw the ipod touch as the lowest-cost way to the app store, and because they haven’t added a lot of new stuff to the ipod, they can make it a lot cheaper so everyone can afford it.

In my opinion, he’s completely right. The iPod Touch can be classed as a media player, a pocket computer, or a gaming device (which apple decided to go with). If they included a camera, it would not only make it less of a gaming device but also more like an iPhone and probably more expensive and less people would be able to afford it.

So do I think they will ever be a camera on the iPod Touch? Truthfully yes! But do I think there should ever be one? Probably not but many people will definitely disagree…