The new iPod Nano might have a camera… again

I think it’s safe to say that, on the whole, Apple creates some pretty awesome products. But that doesn’t mean the company is perfect… take, for example, the current generation iPod Nano. I will never understand who thought it was a good idea to remove the camera, the click wheel and the iconic look of the iPod Nano in favor of a touch-enabled square that, frankly, is too small for a touch screen. I mean, changing the form factor is one thing, but blatantly removing a popular feature like the camera was somewhat insane.

Luckily, though, it seems like the guys at Apple might be trying to fix that mistake. Apple.pro, a website that has been fairly accurate with Apple leaks in the past, has released some spy shots of an iPod Nano similar in form factor to the current generation, except that this model has a camera.

Now, the hole for the camera is on the clip of the device, which is kind of an awkward place. If it were up to me, I’d scratch the whole clip, change the form factor to something a bit more usable, and put the camera on the back… but it’s not up to me.

The device in these photos looks quite similar to an Apple patent published in May ’11. What’s interesting is that there’s another set of similar patents that hint at a tiny speaker integrated into the iPod Nano’s clip, which could possibly maybe be intended for some sort of Siri support (but I wouldn’t count on it).

Of course, there’s always the chance that these images are depicting an prototype Nano from when Apple first decided to switch to the boxy form factor. Maybe the company did test out a current generation iPod Nano with a camera and it didn’t work right, so the axed it.

Whatever the case may be, I’d love to see the return of the iPod Nano camera. It wasn’t high-quality by any means, but I have a lot of friends who love to take quick videos or silly picture on their Nanos. What do you guys think? Was Apple right to sacrifice the camera in favor of the tiny touch screen, or would you like to see its return? Let me know in the comments below or on twitter!

Via: 9to5 Mac