Steve Jobs Explains All

Steve Jobs was interviewed by the New York Times’ David Pogue after the launch who asked him the question we all want to know, “Why no camera for the iPod Touch?”.

Here’s the answer: “Originally, we weren’t exactly sure how to market the Touch. Was it an iPhone without the phone? Was it a pocket computer? What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine,” he said. “We started to market it that way, and it just took off. And now what we really see is it’s the lowest-cost way to the App Store, and that’s the big draw. So what we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199. We don’t need to add new stuff. We need to get the price down where everyone can afford it.”

So there you go, better to pull the punters in with a cheaper gaming device than add some extra functionality. Obviously the Nano has one and if that’s a success, don’t discount Apple sneaking one in down the line. Talking of the Nano camera, Pogue also asked why it shot video, but not stills. Apparently that’s a ‘technical’ decision – the sensors you need to record video are extremely thin, able to slip effortlessly into a Nano. However, the ones with enough resolution for stills, especially with autofocus (like the sensor in the iPhone), are too thick for the Nano right now.

And for the future? Well, Jobs doesn’t believe e-books are a winner, pointing out that Amazon isn’t exactly screaming about its Kindle sales. “Usually, if they sell a lot of something, you want to tell everybody.” But he did say new products are being finalised: “There are some things that I’m focusing a lot of attention on right now – to polish,” he said. “No, I don’t think we’re going to miss a beat. We have some really good stuff coming up.” Tablet perhaps? It’s a strong possibility.

Source info via t3