Hasta La Gadget!

Shipping next month, Apple’s iPad won’t include a camera, but a growing number of clues hint at future versions of the tablet gaining a webcam.

MacRumors received a tip regarding lines of code referring to camera characteristics in the iPad’s software development kit (screegrabbed to the right). The snippets of code allude to zoom, flash, and “front camera.” Added together, that sounds similar to the iSight webcams on MacBooks and iMacs.

Also hinting at a webcam, a job listing Apple posted earlier this month sought a quality-assurance engineer for the “iPad division” to test still, video and audio capture and playback.

The very first hint of a webcam was discovered in a demonstration unit of the iPad during Apple’s Jan. 27 event. The iPad’s Contacts app revealed a “Take Photo” button. However, developers tinkering with the iPad SDK say that button has since been removed.

Some have speculated that Apple could announce the iPad will ship with a camera before the device ships at the end of March. However, it seems unlikely that Steve Jobs would leave such a major feature unmentioned.

What I wonder is whether these hints of cameras appearing in future iPads will affect sales of the first-generation tablet. I would assume the average consumer will opt to wait for the second-generation of the device in the hope of it gaining a camera.

Updated 5 p.m. Wednesday PDT: MacRumors received the tip and screengrab of the code. Erica Sadun did not provide the code, as previously stated. Wired.com regrets the error.

See Also:

• Apple iPad May Ship With Webcam
• Ten Things Missing From the iPad
• Apple’s iPad Thinks It Has a Camera
• A Closer Look at Apple’s New Tablet, the iPad
• Hands-On With the Apple iPad

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com