Want a new cellphone? Just press a button. What looks like painted artwork on the Hitachi W61H phone is actually a new E-Ink screen. Unlike LCDs that add bulk to a device, manufacturers can add these screens—just twice the thickness of a hair—as if they were stickers.

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Next-generation super-phones won’t just be slimmer versions of today’s devices; they will be entirely different machines. Chipmakers are reinventing every processor that powers your portable. From PS3-quality videogames to built-in cameras that can fill in for your current point-and-shoot, a chip for it is in the works. And thanks to shrinking transistors, the new phones won’t be any larger or more power-hungry than today’s ultrathin models. Below, we've pulled together the technologies being released in the next year and a half to build the smartest smartphone possible.

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Well, the official announcement is in—and it's exactly what we were all expecting. The new iPhone, equipped with 3G, GPS, and a much slimmer price, will be available for purchase in 22 countries (including the US) starting July 11.

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It's official. The iPhone has gotten a birthday facelift, and the juicy details are all in line with the rumors we've been hearing all month—3G, GPS, an integrated app store, and a glossy new plastic back in black or old-school Apple white. Perhaps most surprising is a substantial price drop—down to $199 for the 8GB version and $299 for the 16GB (price drops were hinted at, but no amounts). Here's what else Apple campers will be dreaming about when they pitch their tents prior to the July 11 launch date.

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At this very moment, Steve Jobs is on stage in San Francisco where he is expected to unveil the next version of the iPhone. High-speed 3G data connectivity, on-board GPS and a fully developed application store are all likely to be in the cards.

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Just in time for this years growing season, farmers have new equipment to help keep tabs on their crops while away. With SmartCrop, a system developed by Accent Engineering, farmers get text messages when their plants need water. The system uses infrared thermometers to measure leaf temperature and data is then transferred to a computerized base station. A cellphone modem hooked up to the base station allows farmers to receive SMS alerts when their plants are too hot. Research has shown that each plant species has a range of temperatures that is best for its growth.

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Carry a different phone for every situation, whether youre traveling light or blasting tunes in your car. On its own, Modu is one of the smallest, lightest cellphones yet. But when you want to do more than basic calling, pop it into a new outer shell to give it features like a full keyboard, a wider display or a longer-lasting battery.

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Youre a ball of anxiety: head pounding, jaw clenched. And you could feel worse down the line, since on-going stress can wreak havoc on your health. But new devices help you stop tension by picking up on early warning signs. They precisely monitor a bevy of biological stats, wirelessly deliver the data to your computer or phone in real time, and guide you in calming exercises that help you chill out instead of losing your cool.

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Eggs used to be in the news all the time. One month they were good for you, the next month, bad. Morning talk shows and television commercials would trot out expert after expert to volley the conflicting health claims back and forth. But while there is a legitimate debate over the cholesterol content of egg yolks and whether that cholesterol is ultimately bad for you or not, the analogous debate getting airtime these days is not much of debate at all: whether cellphones cause brain cancer.

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Last week, we reported on the good that can come from text-messaging in the context of NGOs using it to build community in developing nations. Now were seeing a story on SMS with a decidedly less altruistic bent. In the past two years, Sweden has seen the birth and rapid rise in popularity of SMS loans.

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A group of independent software developers claims to be close to loosening Apples reins over the software that can run on the iPhone once and for all. Apple announced recently that it plans to start releasing software made by third party developers in June. First, though, those applications will be checked, and then sold or given away free (whichever the developer chooses) directly by Apple, either through iTunes or a virtual store on the phone itself.

But if the independent group, known as the iPhone Dev Team, has its way, that strict outline is going to be shaken up a bit.

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