According to a research not from investment firm Detweiler Fenton, OmniVision will supply the CMOS image sensors for the next generation iPad, Barron’s reports. The second generation tablet is apparently set to ship in the first quarter of 2011 (the first iPad was released on April 3rd, 2010) and Apple is expected to build 2.5 million units in the first quarter.
OmniVision is the same company that builds camera sensors for the iPhone, and what’s interesting here is that the report claims the new iPad will feature not one, but two cameras. A 5MP one and a front-facing one, likely to be used for FaceTime.
In the past months many wondered if Apple would indeed put a rear camera in a new iPad, although it would not be exactly “comfortable” to shoot photos using a 10-inch tablet. So maybe, if the rumors are true, the next generation iPad will be so thin and lightweight that holding it up to take photos wouldn’t be a problem. And of course, a smaller version of the iPad is out of question.
Honestly, I can’t imagine myself using a 10-inch surface to snap pictures around. As the iPad usually sits on my lap, a front-facing camera for FaceTime calls would make a lot more sense - but we never know what Steve Jobs has in store. Maybe they’ll release a 7-inch tablet just to mess with people’s mind, or maybe they’ve come up with a solution to use the iPad as a photo-taking device. We don’t know.
Evidence of video calling on the iPad surfaced in the past, although no further details were spotted since then.
