The idea of a secondary camera in Windows Phone is nothing new. With 'self-portrait camera' listed in the builds on WP 7.0, Microsoft's acquisition Skype and making a secondary camera a must in WP 7.5 hardware, makes it tough to ignore that Microsoft will create a worthy competitor to Apple's Face-time offering. The WP 7.1 SDK continues to list the 'self-portrait camera' conforming previous speculation.
Is a front-facing camera imminent in future handsets?
But what has really assured the secondary camera is a new icon in the Beta 2 Windows Mango dev tools. A developer was kind enough to forward a picture to Wp Central
Is this what we think it is?
What this means for end-users is still a mystery. But developers will get to access the camera API allowing them to create apps that can use either of the two cameras (a la Photobooth) Will they include Skype as a separate app or will they integrate it with Messenger and XBL. The latter provides a seamless connection between your PC, Xbox and Windows Phone. The possibilities are endless but mostly translate to success for Microsoft.
