iPod nano patent references camera, games

A patent filed by Apple and discovered by AppleInsider seems to lead credence to the rumors that the next iPod nano may sport a rear-facing camera. The first rumors of an iPod nano with a camera emerged in April when Apple.pro posted images purporting to be the back casing of a next generation iPod nano with a hole that would be where a camera sits. Just a few days ago, Apple.pro posted more images of the housing.

The patent discovered by AppleInsider today entitled "Environment Sensitive Display Tags" describes adding new sensors to the iPod nano -- one of which being a camera. Perhaps more surprising, the patent also references "screen saver" features that would allow content to be dynamically displayed on the nano and change based on sensor inputs. New sensors listed include a motion sensor, temperature gauge, and a microphone, in addition to the camera. Finally, the patent suggest that the next iPod nano may be capable of playing games -- something the current iPod nano can't yet do. We'll see -- the original photos of a clipless nano made it seem unlikely that Apple would release such an easily-lost device, but this patent certainly lends credence to the idea.

iPod nano patent references camera, games originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 12 May 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.




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