14 DAY TRIAL // A teardown of the third-generation iPod touch has somewhat confirmed rumors that Apple intended to put cameras in its new iPod-touch lineup, and that the device is likely capable of the new 802.11n standard.
iFixit carried out its usual routine and took apart a third-generation iPod touch unit only to find that, “Apple left in room for a camera in the top of the device.” The iPod repair shop notes that, “There is a 6mm x 6mm x 3mm space between the Broadcom chip and the wireless antenna. There isn't enough depth for an iPhone-style autofocus still camera, but just enough room for the camera that Apple used in the 5th generation iPod nano.” The new nano also had its guts ripped out by the team at iFixit.
Before Apple’s September 9 iPod event this year, word on the web had it that cameras for the new iPod-touch range were not coming along as expected and that Apple would fail to meet the September 9 deadline to announce the upgrade. These rumors now appear to have been accurate. Considering that Apple has crammed a VGA camera even inside the ultra-thin 5G iPod nano, the iPod touch has more than enough room for the hardware.
As for the new Broadcom BCM4329FKUBG wireless chip, Broadcom is said to have confirmed to iFixit that BCM4329 supports 802.11n. IEEE 802.11 is a set of standards carrying out wireless local area network (WLAN) computer communication in the 2.4, 3.6 and 5 GHz frequency bands. 802.11n is a recent amendment that improves upon the previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and other new features.
Interestingly, the chips soldered on the new iPod’s logic board seemed melted, according to the people at iFixit. “The chips looked like that when we removed the speaker, we didn't damage them ourselves,” the team of tech-savvy blokes says. “We're not sure if that's just adhesive, or if the packages were actually slightly melted.”