New 'iPod Touch with camera' makes brief appearance on eBay

What looks to be the new iPod Touch has turned up on eBay - and it has a camera / www.news.com.au Source: news.com.au

• New iPods turn up on eBay
• Claim to come "w/camera"
• Pulled from eBay immediately

ANOTHER week, another leak for Apple.

This time it's the new iPod, following hot on the heels of the iPhone 4G that found its way out of Apple's development HQ at Cupertino and into a bar last week.

While it is now obvious the loss of the iPhone 4G caused Apple genuine concern, the surfacing of the iPod Touch on Ebay on Friday has more than a hint of PR about it.

Mainly because it was taken down almost immediately, but not before several keen Apple-hunters had snapped a load of screenshots.

What is interesting is that despite Steve Jobs claiming the iPod was too thin for a camera, the mystery seller claims both models in their possession came with "w/cameras".

The original design for the new iPod was rumoured to include a camera, but the latest update claimed Apple had ditched the idea.

So are the eBay iPods the real deal?

Both models carry the "DVT" (design verification test) tags that graced Gray Powell's iPhone 4G, and both carry bar codes which look to have the Apple Development Team's signature.

Further confirmation that the iPods are indeed the third-generation models came in the form of screenshots showing the devices running Switchboard - the firmware Apple uses to test whether the thing actually works.

If it is a deliberate leak from Apple, the signs are good that the third-generation iPod could be released in the US spring (autumn) as rumoured, rather than the long wait for September, which is the window Apple usually reserves for major product upgrades.