Apple Developing a Flip Killer?

Ryan Kim at the San Francisco Chronicle passes along a rumor that Apple is looking to embed a camera into its newest iPod. Kim remarks that it could be "another step up that could eat away at sales of dedicated cameras and camcorders" and particularly the popular Flip from Pure Digital.

Color me skeptical. Not that Apple is working on a camera module for the iPod (I have no idea) but that such a move would have any measurable impact on camera/camcorder sales, which are declining due to market saturation more than anything else. Last year, consumers bought about 35 million cameras and about 5 million camcorders in the U.S. They've been buying tens of millions of such devices year-in and year-out despite the fact that their cell phone has a camera. When camera phones were introduced, many analysts were predicting the demise of cameras and camcorders. But it didn't happen.

It would be an act of monumental foolishness (and tech-writing career suicide) to bet against Apple, but I suspect that even if they hit the proverbial home run and create an iPod capable of taking some really nice video, people will still want the features and functionality you can only find on a camcorder. But of course, I would say that.