
Heh. No flash photography please.
If you live in Singapore and you plan to buy an iPhone 4S from carrier M1, you might find that the iPhone 4S doesn't have any cameras inside of it. Why would they do that? As it turns out, the military is prohibited from taking photographs while on base and these camera-less iPhone 4S's are intended for them. It downright wouldn't make sense to remove a camera for normal selling conditions after all, would it? The 8 megapixel camera is one of the top selling points of the iPhone 4S as well as the front-facing FaceTime camera.
With the carriers selling the iPhone 4S without any cameras, you can bet on the fact that they pre-terminate your one year Apple warranty because they are opening and tampering with the insides of your iPhone 4S. So this means that if something happens to it, Apple doesn't have to honor fixing it simply because it has been messed with internally. Hopefully the carriers are doing something to offer a warranty of their own to replace the Apple warranty which is void as soon as they sell the tampered iPhone 4S. Obviously, if these iPhone 4S's are intended for the military, then chances of damage is increased.
Since the tampered iPhone 4S is for military only, civilians can still buy the iPhone 4S with the cameras still attached. These iPhone 4S's will still have their Apple warranty. Officials in the military that buy the tampered iPhone 4S must show proof that the iPhone 4S had its camera decommissioned at the carrier and not by the owner's hand. They are given a certificate that authenticates the process that they can use to allow their iPhone into the military with them.
Singapore isn't the first place to ban cameras on secure locations. At least this method allows military personnel to own and operate an iPhone even when on base. While there are many applications in the App Store that require a camera for the best functionality, unfortunately the military personnel will be forced to use applications that let you use the Camera Roll or don't use any cameras at all. This means no video chatting, no camera plus applications, and no entertainment booth applications. But, they can still do everything else like surf the web, text message, phone call, check email, and more.
The cost of the iPhone 4S (64GB) with the camera removed would have cost $900. The company refused to comment on why. The iPhone 4S isn't unlocked, but they indirectly implied that it was because of the labor for removing both cameras. A little ridiculous if you ask me. There will be a total of three companies that sell the iPhone 4S without a camera in Singapore as time progresses.
Sources: The Jakarta Globe
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