Just going ignore the people who are just here to get under people skins of people trying to find a compromise for a big basic feature of a convergent device. If by usb, so be it, but it has to be in away that isn't a self defeating purpose.
Btw, I think a hard slide on case or even replace the lid with a thicker lid would be the better option.
Give some consideration to how this would have to be implemented.
A camera module can not live in the lid. There simply is not room for the wiring through the hinge for it. The only connection going through that hinge is the MIPI signals for the display. Also, despite looks, the actual volume/thickness of the display area of the case is VERY thin. There is only enough thickness for the plastic bezel, the screen, the screen backlight/circuit board then the outer lid shell. I'm betting that if someone got out the calipers on it, there might be 4mm of total 'thickness' there out of the 30mm or so of thickness for the whole device. There is an illusion of more - but those outside 'wings' that help glare shroud the screen and provide stiffening to the lid don't count. The camera on your cell phone likely requires 5-7mm of thickness from the board it's surface mounted to to the case edge. The Pyra likely has all of 0.5-1mm from the lid's backlight circuit board to open air. So, unless we want to make the lid at least 10mm thick, a camera of any quality simply cannot live there.
It can't be on the bottom/back side of the motherboard. The SoC board, battery and stylus live between there and the back of the case.
It can't be on the top/front side of the motherboard. The controls, speakers, keyboard all live there.
I have yet to see a vertical edge-mount camera. If there were such a thing, though, there isn't room on the back - it's full of ports and shoulder buttons. The front is full with the wireless, SD slots and volume wheel. Putting it on the left/right side isn't exactly practical either.
The motherboard is -packed-. No more room for additional features.
The vertical space in the lower case lid (keyboard surround piece) to the left and right of the hinge area might be a theoretical spot - but the shoulder buttons live in most of that.
So, if you're even going to -consider- a camera, where do YOU think that such a feature should live within this already feature-packed device? Consider that it will need to surface mount AND need ~ 5mm of depth between the case edge it's peeking through and the board it's mounted to.
The Pyra project is too far down the road to add one now, but for a theoretical successor years down the road - where would you even put a camera?
Quite simply, there isn't room for this feature and, frankly, the majority would rather not have it.
Made me laugh.
