[donm527]

The Engadget Show Live! with Jon Rubinstein (Live Video) -- Engadget

from rubi's mouth. and still no definitive date... "Summer... Soon... Summer"
no carriers yet. geez... it's not done yet and they dont have any carriers lined up yet.

[un_designer]

it either means that they're holding the cards close and it'll be awesome, or that things are in a state of disarray and they are not ready yet.

[donm527]

it (the camera) was the only thing that he would definitely confirm.

[Seowave]

I don't get the point of a rear camera on a tablet. I mean what's the point? Are you really going to want to take photos with it? "Hold on while I take my 9.7" screen tablet out to take a photo of this moment!"

Front facing camera is all I see a point to. I mean do people want a rear camera on their laptops?

As for carrier I say forget it. All I want is a retail WiFi version. I already pay for data on my phone I don't want to pay even more for for a tablet. I just hope a WiFi only version is announced soon after.

[balla2g2]

I don't like to spend money on things I "might use one day...."

[donm527]

I don't like to spend money on things I "might use one day...."

lol... it's just on extra feature that they offer on the ipad2.
they didnt increase the cost of it on the newer model for ya

you gonna buy a new pre3 with the touchpad so you can touch to connect (or whatever they call it?). for those that wont, you can make the same argument of a feature 'most will never use.' they would have been better putting the rear camera.

[japomani]

With a rear camera, I would like to take pictures of documents and then OCR them into a OneNote type app.

[Beanis]

Rear camera is a feature that feature list nerds like to get excited about. But in practice, nobody with a tablet that I know has used their rear camera. It's just another novelty feature to sell it.

[un_designer]

Rear camera is a feature that feature list nerds like to get excited about. But in practice, nobody with a tablet that I know has used their rear camera. It's just another novelty feature to sell it.

perhaps, but that doesn't mean that it is not a useful feature to have. everyone's experience is slightly different, and i don't doubt that the people in your circle hace no need for a rear-facing camera. but, there are some very valid reasons why a rear-facing camera would be very useful:

1) in a business setting: as i've said before in another thread. if you've had to do video conferencing for work to collaborate with others, you'll quickly realize how valuable it is to be able to look at something together by using the rear-facing camera. the excuse of "why don't you just turn the tablet around" just doesn't cut it. it's clumsy and it doesn't work.

2) in a personal setting: a rear-facing camera makes connecting with friends and family to share a moment that you can't be there for much more "alive" because you're able to look at the same thing and react to the same thing. i've seen my parents get excited being able to share their lives and their world with me by using the rear-facing camera. my parents are old and even they get the idea.

[japomani]

here is another way I would use a rear facing camera, go to a staff meeting and they pass out an agenda, I snap a picture of it and then use my HP stylus to take notes in the margins.

[dcbo89]

I don't expect one and honestly for the most part don't care, I see very little use for a rear facing camera on a 10 incg device, 7 inch maybe. For any use cases that I would have, augmented reality, handwriting recognition, etc, I will have my pre3.

I do like the idea of a HD capable front facing one though. As long as its better than the ipad2's ill be happy though

[innocentbystander]

I'm really really worried that the Touch To Share APIs won't be opened up until it's much too late. Much like the microphone APIs. Imagine only having TTS on homebrew apps for a year until Palm finally gets their sh-t straight.
This is one area in which Apple really has a clear cut advantage. If it can push software the day after it promises the software, they gain so much trust among users.

[Aurash91#WP]

my primary use for a rear camera would be for conferencing. It's not that silly of a feature.

is there a mirror for the show from yesterday?

[GodShapedHole]

I'm really really worried that the Touch To Share APIs won't be opened up until it's much too late. Much like the microphone APIs. Imagine only having TTS on homebrew apps for a year until Palm finally gets their sh-t straight.

Quoted for truth. One of HP's biggest must-dos is definitely providing the developer community with the APIs they want. The App Catalog would probably be a bit bigger than it is now if Developers had had API access to the camera and microphone, among other things (I understand that the media indexer API has been a problem in the past, for example).

If developers can bake Touch-To-Share into all of their apps, it's gonna be a fantastic feature indeed. If they cannot use Touch-To-Share because of a missing API "to be released in the coming months", that would severely cripple the feature's basic potential, which is so huge it can scarcely be overstated.

A lot of people don't understand the concept of a continuous client just yet... but having the option of touching your phone against your tablet / PC and being able to take whatever you were doing with you is a true revolution in how we interact with computers because you are, in a very real way, no longer forced to interact with a computer to get to your content - but interacting with your content irrespective of which computer you're using to do it.

But yes - they'll need to release the API for it. A feature is only really a feature if it can be used by people. For example, people were laughing when Apple released the 3GS with a compass (I was laughing as well). The laughter would have been justified if the compass had just been a compass app - useless for most people in most situations - but it had an API attached so a lot of useful apps and new features in old apps followed.