Analyst: FaceTime-ready iPod touch on the Way

Apple will be hosting a special media event on September 1, and UBS analyst Maynard Um thinks the company will use the event to introduce a FaceTime-ready version of the iPod touch.

“Steve Jobs mentioned during the iPhone 4 event in June that Apple would ship tens of millions of FaceTime ‘devices’ this calendar year, and we feel that this could lead to the addition of cameras to the iPod touch to enable FaceTime (video chat) as well as a higher resolution display,” Mr. Um said.

FaceTime is the video call feature Apple introduced with iOS 4 and the iPhone 4. The feature takes advantage of the iPhone 4’s front-facing camera, which means the iPod touch will likely get a front-facing camera as well.

Mr. Um expects Apple will refresh the rest of the iPod lineup, which doesn’t seem like much of a stretch considering the company has rolled out updated iPods around September for the past several years.

This year’s media event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Other than Apple’s track record for releasing new iPods around now, the only hint that the event will be music related is an image of a guitar on the invitations sent out to the media.

Mr. Um is maintaining his “Buy” rating and US$340 target price for Apple’s stock. Apple is currently trading in the pre-market at $244.81, up 1.92 (0.79%).