5MP iPod touch with FaceTime and HD video incoming?

Apple are preparing an iPod touch refresh with a 5-megapixel camera, front-facing webcam for WiFi FaceTime video calls, and the same accelerometer and gyroscope updates as in the iPhone 4, claims UK retailer John Lewis.  The predictions – sourced, John Lewis told Electricpig, from "noises we're hearing from suppliers" – suggest that the traditional September refresh of Apple's touchscreen PMP will see it targeted as an all-round multimedia device for the youth market.

The 5-megapixel camera, the retailer has heard, will support HD video – presumably the same 720p HD as the iPhone 4 – together with using an LED flash for low-light photography.  The iPod touch will also get direct YouTube uploads; we'll have to see whether its processor is updated so that it can comfortably run iMovie for iPhone.

Meanwhile gaming will be emphasized with the new motion sensors, and Apple will continue to push their video calling functionality by bringing FaceTime into the iPod touch fold.  None of this is official, of course, and we're not sure who John Lewis' sources are exactly, but then neither does it sound especially outlandish considering the moves Apple has been making in recent months.