A new set of photos appeared this week that showed a camera mold within a currently shipping iPad bezel. We’re not quite sure what to think here… it makes sense that Apple could have pulled the camera last minute due to a consistent issue in testing. We’re surprised that repair companies are purchasing legitimate parts for this device already. It is not typical for knock-offs to be ready before a device actually debuts, and it’s very unusual for someone to spend enough time with a part that they could duplicate it to exact specifications.

It’s possible that Mission:Repair knows people very deeply rooted in Apple engineering or parts supply… more power to them. ;) Parts aside, it doesn’t surprise us at all that Apple would need to pull the camera at the last minute. Our resident technician, Josh, knows that the MacBook camera design (nearly identical to the supposed iPad camera) has never been great at staying in place with a lot of movement. The iPad will be moved, a lot. We’re guessing that Apple pulled the plug on the camera because it kept getting dislodged in the “street” tests. They could just need to re-examine the way the camera sits in the machine. It could also have something to do with the iPad 3G: the top of the iPad’s rear panel is completely devoted to the 3G signal. We don’t know what the complications could be, but the antennas would be right next to the camera in that version.

We would have preferred to see the iPad delayed another month or so if it was really going to have a camera. It’s not hurting Apple to put it off for a month — at least in our minds. That camera would have made the iPad infinitely more appealing to many people but we, like most people, are looking forward to the 2nd revision.

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