Singapore Carriers to offer iPhone 4S without cameras

One of the most enticing features of the iPhone is the camera. Annie Leibovitz even recommended the iPhone as the “snapshot camera of today” and the iPhone 4 is listed as the most popular camera on Flickr.

So what’s the deal with camera-less iPhones?

Singapore’s military has a rule against any personnel from owning a smartphone with a camera (obviously for reasons of national security) and after a year-long review, Mindef (the Singapore Defense Ministry) recently issued a set of guidelines on the use of such smartphones.

For Singapore’s military personnel, smartphones, especially those that come equipped with cameras, would now need certificates to prove that their devices have been removed of any imaging devices. According to The Jakarta Globe, Apple’s three carrier partners in Singapore are planning on launching the iPhone 4S without cameras – Singapore’s M1 carrier even (briefly) featured an advertisement for the planned release on their website.

The modification obviously isn’t Apple-sanctioned and no details have been provided with regard to the ability to put the camera back in place once removed or how it would affect the warranty status with Apple.

The Singapore military isn’t the only ones that prohibit the use of smartphones. Many US corporations as well have policies against the use of smartphones for obvious reasons – I wonder if similar actions would allow employees of these corporations to own the latest-and-greatest in the near future.

via Ubergizmo, Macrumors, The Jakarta Globe

Image courtesy of CNET Asia via Macrumors