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Does the lack of a web cam bother you?

Battlestar said:
I think that perhaps the iPhone 4G will work on a 4G network(when available) and that will make video conferencing possible. 3G network video streaming is hit or miss at best.

I am sure that the next iPad will work on 4G networks and have a camera.
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The next gen wireless networks haven't been rolled out yet and there isn't a standard that everyone is going with in the U.S. Verizon may be going with LTE while Sprint is possibly going with WiMax and ATT can't even get their 3G network to work, how are they going to get 4G up and running.

Besides 3G is more than enough. My cell phone in Japan supports video conferencing and it works wonderfully.

I would have loved a camera. Also if you are worried about people looking up your nose just hold it in a different position.
 
Yes, as a web-cam would make the iPad ideal for me for all but the very longest trips away from home.

No, not enough to put me off buying the first release.
 
I think it's ridiculous.

The iPad is supposed to be an alternative for netbooks, and all of those crappy netbooks, even $200 ones, have webcams. It should've been a no-brainer to throw one in there, especially with how social-networking and skype and even iChat are so popular.

For $500 base price, it's pretty sad.

Some people would defend apple saying "But how many "mobile devices" have video-chatting capabilities? Hardly any!"
Yeah, but apple is supposed to be revolutionary, innovative, and the iPad would totally support it way better than most other devices.

I'm sure Apple just had to save it for the next generation to create interest in that one too.

But even the iPod Nano has a camera...
 
It was something I was really hoping to have, Skype chats from my living room rather then my mac upstairs was something I was hoping the tablet would bring me & why I held off buying a laptop.

So im dissapointed but not enough not to buy it, its still a great device and I will just have to wait for the next version ( or Iphone 4) to give me a camera,
 
I think it would be perfect for the iPad to have a camera. Im talking about front facing though. SKYPE, facebook, msn clients (if someone makes one that accepts webcam feeds), even games and other apps would benefit from this.
 
No not at all. I rarely use the camera on my MacBook. Besides for a mobile computing device like the iPad that is turned portrait then landscape and vice versa so much where would they put the camera? It isn't like an iPhone where it is always held in one orientation when using it to talk. It would be extremely awkward to have the camera on the top of the device so that when it is turned long ways you have to shift your head to the left or right to be seen. Not very efficient if you ask me. Just another unnecessary feature to drain my iPad's battery life.
 
If they were going to add anything, I'd say add a built-in USB port.

Webcam? Who cares, I'd just put tape on it... of course without Flash, there probably wouldn't be any need.
 
Nope, I'm not a fan of webcams at all. I've had them on every Apple computer I've owned over the last six years, beginning with the iSight. I think I've probably used them under 15 times. I find video chatting to be awkward and pointless. I think it makes a bit more sense on the iPhone, since it will be less of an 'event' when used, but even then I doubt I will ever really find a need for it.

A regular video/still camera would have been nice though. Not that I would use it often, but I just think all mobile devices should come with a standard camera.
 
Video conferencing without a laptop is kind of cool.

likemyorbs said:
Honestly, yes it bothers me because i feel like they did it for the sole purpose of selling more ipads next year when they finally add it. but i bought one anyway just because its not a feature i use often enough to care. but i do love to ichat and skype on my macbook every so often. i feel like if they added the cam to the iphone and ipad a lot more people would use it, even if right now you dont think you will. but oh well, thats why im selling my ipad a month before the second generation comes out and getting a new one. meanwhile, i LOVE this thing!
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I agree with this. It would be a nice feature as this past year my brother moved abroad and Skype is the only way we can communicate these days. Because of the time difference we usually have to do it at weird times so to not have to boot up the lappy would be cool. :cool:
 
RHatton said:
No not at all. I rarely use the camera on my MacBook. Besides for a mobile computing device like the iPad that is turned portrait then landscape and vice versa so much where would they put the camera? It isn't like an iPhone where it is always held in one orientation when using it to talk. It would be extremely awkward to have the camera on the top of the device so that when it is turned long ways you have to shift your head to the left or right to be seen. Not very efficient if you ask me. Just another unnecessary feature to drain my iPad's battery life.
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This can be solved easily with the accelerometer. It would auto rotate depending on which way you wanted to hold it, just like every point-and-shoot camera on the market.
 
NyArtboy said:
This can be solved easily with the accelerometer. It would auto rotate depending on which way you wanted to hold it, just like every point-and-shoot camera on the market.
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The point I was making wasn't the rotation or orientation. It was the position of the camera. If the iPad is turned in landscape, the camera would point at your shoulder instead of your face.
 
In answer to the original question, not remotely. Never used it on my iMac, never used it on my MacBook Pro, would never use it on the iPad either.

Far as I can see the only purpose adding a webcam or any kind of camera to the iPad would have, for me, would be to silence those who tediously cite it as "yet another reason the iPad is FAIL" or whatever.

Otherwise, useless to me. But I can see the appeal to those who regularly iChat or whatever :)
 
I think a 3rd party camera would actually be better than an integrated camera. I'd like to see something that could clip onto the bezel so it works in either landscape or portrait mode, as well as being able to turn the camera front or back so the camera apps for the iphone could be utilized. This kind of camera could also rotate up and down...making it easy for the viewer to see the user whether the iPad is on one's lap, or standing up with the case.

Once an ichat or skype app is available this summer, a camera with these functions would put the ipad over the top.
 
Not in the least, mainly because - as sadly seems to be a trend these days - people are complaining about what they see as missing features without actually thinking how you'd use it.

Ignoring for a moment that very few people actually use their built-in web cams on most laptops think for a moment about the practicalities of using an iPad webcam. It'd be facing pretty much straight at you so if you're not really curled up on the sofa you're going to be holding it straight in front of you and would have to have it at arms length to give the camera enough room to get a wide shot. That's going to get exhausting very quickly indeed. You could put it on a stand but then the camera's at an angle as it's low down and you get a wonderful dose of nostril-vision.

Would it be cool to have a webcam on the iPad? Sure, I guess, if it doesn't add to the final price tag. But it's got to WORK, and not just in the sense that it can send pictures and be accessed by software but in an ergonomic sense and right now I don't quite see how you manage that.
 
A camera would be useless for me on this device. Doubling the amount of RAM would be nice though.
 
Just like all the webcams in my other devices, it would get used so rarely it's not an issue for me.

If iPad V2.0 comes out with front and back cameras I'd be pleased, it may come in handy occasionally, but not enough to upgrade for that feature alone.

Chances are, there will be other features which will make a V2.0 product compelling, cameras will be a bonus.
 
Not in the slightest bit bothered by the lack of front-facing camera. A totally pointless addition in my world. I won't use it on the next Iphone, either, unless a game developer figures out a clever use for it.

A back camera is especially asinine. Totally useless.
 
Not at all.

I haven't used the camera in my macbook air and macbook pro for the last 4 years... the only ones I use regularly is the one on my iMac, as it is in the right angle for video chats and photobooth.

I am glad I didn't have to pay extra bucks for what I would have never used much.
 
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