Exactly for how long this reference to an HD iSight labeled next-gen has been available in QuickTime's localizable.strings is not known for sure yet. Still, the news is certainly exciting, should this mean Apple is prepping to release a new, external iSight for the company's currently selling systems.

MacRumors claims one of their readers has found references to "an unreleased High Definition USB iSight in Apple's QuickTime system files." Specifically labeled "Next Generation USB iSight," the line found in QuickTime's localizable.strings also makes a reference to HD (High Definition). It's hard to say exactly how old this "iSight HD" reference is, but "a quick Google search shows no previous discussion of it," the source notes.

For all anyone knows, iSight HD could have long been "planned" and, in the meanwhile, dropped by Apple. Whether we can expect iMac refurbs or not in the near future remains to be seen. However, Apple is probably not going to release an external iSight ever again. Even if it should boast HD capabilities, snot-nosed Mac users are likely to pass on it. After all, it is one of the reasons they went for "all-in-one" systems in the first place.

Developed and marketed by Apple Inc., the iSight was sold at its retail stores for US$149 as an external unit that connected to a computer via FireWire cable. It came with a set of mounts to place it atop any Apple display, although it was pretty large for some. The term is now used to reference to Apple's newest iSight, built inside newer iMac, MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro computers.

Apple introduced iSight in 2003 at its Worldwide Developers Conference. Back then, the company claimed iSight was intended to be used with iChat AV, Apple's video-conferencing client. iMovie (version 4 and later) could also be used to capture video from the device. Apple also released a firmware update for the iSight to improve audio performance in April 2005. As of December 16, 2006, the iSight was discontinued at the Apple online store, as well as at the brick-and-mortar ones.