Rumor: iPhone OS 3.2 supports video calling, file downloads and SMS?

Engadget has confirmed the reports of “extremely trusted sources” that the iPad’s iPhone OS 3.2 contains support for a host of long anticipated features, including video calling, file downloads and even SMS messaging.
According to their sources, the current beta of iPhone OS 3.2 includes hooks to accept and decline video conferencing, as well as flip a video-feed (for a front-mounted camera) and run the video call in either full screen mode or in a small window.

More than that, iPhone OS 3.2 currently hints at file downloads and local storage in the browser, which means you can finally slurp down a link to, say, an MP3 or eBook and use it in iTunes or iBooks. It also has hooks for iPad-specific SMS messaging.

This is preliminary code, and none of this functionality works right now, but at the very least, it implies some future developments in both the iPad and iPhone. It’s the video conferencing stuff that’s really interesting though: the iPad contains no camera, so either Apple’s already programming video conferencing support for the iPad 2G, the next iPhone is finally going to get a secondary forward mounted camera… or both.

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John Brownlee is news editor here at Cult of Mac, and has also written about a lot of things for a lot of different places, including Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, AMC, Geek and the Consumerist. He lives in Cambridge with his charming inamorata and a tiny budgerigar punningly christened after Nabokov's most famous pervert. You can follow him here on Twitter.

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Posted in iPad, News |

Scott
How about a fourth option – a 30 pin add-on camera? That could be used for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and wouldn’t require additional hardware or manufacturing costs to be passed on to potential customers who don’t want video calling. If someone wants it, they could buy the add-on . . .
iFanboy
Yeah, great Scott!
I’ll repost something I wrote about this before:
“Because the iPad orientates itself when upside down, it may be possible for third-party still and video cameras, attached through the connector, now on top.
You could buy a still camera that meets your needs and budget in terms of megapixels ~ basically a little block with a lens and sliding cover. More expensive models would have an infra-red sensor for manual focusing, maybe even a little flashgun
Framing, exposure control and much more (of course) would be done on-screen with bundled software.
And hopefully, even the cheapest, fixed-focus camera would be able to swivel for self-portrait or video conferencing or podcasting.
You could travel on a train (let’s say) and do a podcast ~ Imagine one using the most expensive (which I will call the iBall) … it has two zoom lenses, one facing toward the iPadder AND – controllable with on-screen touch controls – a little outward-looking rotatable ball, so you could give a live commentary to camera, then cut to the iBall (which you’ve already swivelled using an on-screen monitor) and just by touching directional arrows the iBall is looking out the window so your family (say) can see too the beautiful line of trees and the old farmhouses… as you travel across Italy.
Just a couple of ideas…”
http://www.spongeinside.nl Sponge
An add-on camera would be pretty nice and it’s a good idea.. but the whole concept is not very ‘Apple-like’ :( I’m wondering if the usb connector would be able to have you connecting a normal usb webcam instead of a normal photo camera that just downloads the pictures to the iPad…
Many possibilities me thinks ;)
iFanboy
The 3:02 is a post by the REAL iFanboy
Got to agree with Sponge (and Scott) ~ many possibilities