Apple today introduced its fourth-generation iPod touch, featuring a FaceTime-capable front-facing camera. The new touch also sports a new HD video recording rear-facing camera and microphone, the same Apple A4 chip that powers the iPhone 4, a 960×640 retina display, and a 3-axis gyroscope. Physically, the new iPod touch is thinner than its predecessors and features a slightly curved, flatter back, and a new speaker port near the Dock Connector.
Notably, both the front- and rear-facing cameras will be capable of still photography, with the former capped at 640×480 resolution and the latter capped at 960×720. The devices will be available next week and will be priced at $229 for the 8GB model, $299 for the 32GB version, and $399 for the 64GB model.
Note that the fourth-generation iPod touch gains limited 802.11n support (2.4GHz only), like the iPhone 4, joining Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and has a promised audio run time of 40 hours, versus 7 hours of video.
H.264 and M-JPEG video codecs now support 1280×720-resolution 720p HD videos, as well as 1024×768 output via Apple’s previously-released iPad VGA to Dock Connector Adapter. The device does not have GPS hardware and thus supports geo-tagging only when connected to a Wi-Fi network. FaceTime video calling is handled via a dedicated FaceTime application, with an icon that looks like a white camera on a green background.
