iLounge

New photos of a clip-on iPod nano with a camera have appeared online. Taiwanese site Apple.pro has posted (Translated Link) four new photos showing what appears to be a sixth-generation iPod nano shell with a camera built into the upper left of the rear of the device, as well as a small hole on the top that would presumably be for a microphone.

Notably, the same website was the source of a similar photo last April, leading to speculation that a seventh-generation nano with camera functionality would appear in 2011. While such a device was never released, an Apple patent illustration—for a speaker that would be built in to the device’s rear clip—subsequently provided proof that the company had been working on such a design. While there is little doubt that the item pictured is a real Apple prototype design, it remains unclear at this point whether Apple actually plans on releasing such a device, as the challenges relating to photography on such a small device remain significant, and the value of this feature versus others that Apple could include in a new iPod nano is questionable. [via Mac Rumors]