Getting bored with all the next-gen iPhone leaks? Well, don't worry, we've got something new: a device that appears to be the first iPod Touch with a camera, in the hands of the same Vietnamese bloggers who scored last week's leaked iPhone scoop.
Tinhte has all the snapshots and a video, with Engadget contributing a helpful play-by-play analysis of the leak.
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The device in the pictures does look an awful lot like an iPod Touch. Engadget speculates that it's a third-generation model based on the serial number. Another key detail, according to Engadget: the "DVI-1" emblem on the back, indicating that this particular Touch might be an "early design verification test unit" (which would explain the rough touch interface seen in Tinhte's YouTube video).
Of course, the item that got everyone's attention in the snapshots is the little lens on the shiny back panel of the touch, which Tinhte tells us is a 2-megapixel camera sensor — not quite the 5-megapixel camera that's expected on the next-generation iPhone, and there doesn't appear to be a flash.
Still, any lens at all would be a first for the iPod Touch, which has yet to ship with a built-in camera. Many assumed that we'd finally get a Touch with a camera during Apple's big iPod refresh last September, especially after pictures of third-party Touch cases emerged with openings for a camera lens. In the end, however, we ended up with yet another camera-free Touch. (Rumor had it that Apple planned a camera on the third-generation Touch, but pulled it at the last minute because of "technical problems.")
The latest leak (assuming the Touch in Tinhte's pictures and video is authentic) suggests that Apple intends to add a camera to the iPod Touch soon, though it's a safe bet that the eventual fourth-generation Touch will look different than the test unit in these latest leaked snapshots.
Oh, and one more thing: Keep in mind that in recent years, Apple has typically introduced its new iPod lineup — including the iPod Touch — in September, so don't expect to glimpse any new, camera-packing Touches next month.
