Apple aired a new iPad commercial during the Oscars ceremony last night. The ad touts the iPad as a tool that anyone can use for creating films. What viewers may not have known while watching the spot, however, was that the commercial itself was filmed entirely on an iPad.
When the iPad 2 was announced a couple months ago, it was called "the first 'camera' to have a sensor resolution lower than the display resolution." Commenters were quick to point out that Apple never intended for the device to be used as a camera like the iPhone is, and therefore was probably able to keep costs down by limiting it to a 0.7 megapixel sensor. Now, with millions of the devices in consumers' hands, Flickr's camera statistics confirm what we suspected all along: no one uses the iPad 2 as a camera.
When the iPad 2 was announced a week ago, many people were undoubtedly excited that front and rear-facing cameras were added to the device. However, rather than endow the iPad with a rear-camera equal or superior to the iPhone 4's, the geniuses at Apple decided to add a pretty lame one, giving it the (dis)honor of being the first "camera" to have a sensor resolution lower than the display resolution.