TOP TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Apple’s fourth-generation iPhone is due for a June or July launch with a better camera and possibly a touch-sensitive housing, according to an analyst.

Robert Chen of Goldman Sachs told Bloomberg that Apple’s next iPhone will be a major hardware and software upgrade. He did not disclose his source.

“Apple’s going to put a lot of innovation, not just on the hardware, but also on the software of the new iPhone,” said Chen, adding that the handset will feature a 5-megapixel camera and a new touch-sensitive plastic casing similar to that used for Apple’s Magic Mouse.

What’s better than shooting HD video with a tiny compact camera? Shooting video underwater with a tiny compact camera, of course. Olympus has announced, amongst an otherwise rather dull CES lineup, the Stylus Tough 3000.

The 3000 is shockproof, waterproof and freeze-proof, and packs a 12 megapixel sensor which can also shoot 720p video. You can drop it to the ground from five feet up, dunk it into 10 feet of water and use it in temperatures as low as 14ºF (that’s below zero, or minus 10ºC, for our worldwide readers).

LAS VEGAS — If you had any doubt that the big thing in televisions this year will be 3D, then Samsung’s CES press conference would have finally convinced you. The company is throwing its rather large manufacturing weight behind 3D in the home, bringing not just TVs but 3D Blu-ray players and home theater systems into stores this year.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California — Apple may have the Jesus phone, but today Google rolled out its own “superphone.”

Google unveiled its Nexus One touchscreen handset during a private press-only event at its headquarters here Tuesday. Developed in partnership with hardware manufacturer HTC, the Nexus One is Google’s first branded entry into the smartphone market.

The Nexus One runs the latest version of Google’s Android mobile operating system, allowing for several forward-thinking features.

Our friends at Macworld have a simple list of uses for a dead iPod. The suggestions include using the iPod as a car stereo (if the battery no longer charges), turning the iPod into a storage drive, or tethering the iPod to a computer as an always-plugged-in iTunes player.

Decent suggestions, but I had to chime in with my favorite use of an old iPod: Turning it into a bootable Mac OS X drive. Lifehacker posted a great guide on installing Mac OS X Leopard on your iPod.

While the empty space behind my apartment’s walls is filled with the bodies of dead cheerleaders*, it’s likely that the space beyond your drywall is going to waste. So why not hook up some of Meysam Movahedi’s splendid Rambler Sockets and put that void to use?

The sockets eliminate cable clutter by putting an extension cord in the wall itself (too bad if you have an old stone-walled house).

Nescaline is a Nintendo NES emulator for the iPhone, which costs $7 and comes with five homebrew NES games. Or it did. The application was pulled from the App store almost immediately when it was found that by simply entering a URL, you could download any pirated ROM and play it.

A cryin’ shame indeed, as it sounded like a pretty good app. According to the Cult of Mac’s resident deviant, John “The Mustache” Brownlee, “Nescaline has a full feature list, including multitouch, light gun and save state support.” All that you need for some retro-gaming fun.

LOS ANGELES – In a small workshop a pick’s throw from downtown L.A., a French luthier pays homage to the quintessential American electric guitar using a most unusual material.

From across the room, the Trussart Deluxe SteelCaster may look like a ’52 Fender Telecaster. But lay your hands on it and you immediately know this cool chunk of welded steel didn’t come out of the Fender Custom Shop.

Toshiba has just announced the availability of a new embedded NAND flash memory chip, which can hold up to 64GB of data. These are the chips that sit inside the iPhone and iPod Touch.

One reason that the iPod Touch usually has more memory than the iPhone is that, despite its skinny form, there is more room inside. Consequently, the Touch can fit in two chips where the iPhone only has space for one. This new release from Toshiba, then, means that the iPhone could double-up on storage and the iPod Touch could again leap ahead.

Star Wars was pretty obviously a rip off of Samurai movies, right down to the lightsabers and Darth Vader’s outfit. So what better to celebrate George Lucas’ “homage” to Japan than a pair of “Lightsaber Chopsticks”?

For just ¥2,900 ($33) you can pop sushi into your mouth with this most honorable of weapons, and because they are made of plastic instead of beams of dangerous light, your cake-hole should remain safe throughout the meal.