The Megatouch Elite Edge ION might looks more like a slot machine than something you’d see in an arcade, but the ION is what we might see being added to the arcade floor in the near future.

Featuring a 15-inch touch screen, a joystick, some stunning 3D graphics, and a collection of 102 games (ranging from puzzles to sports and action), the ION wants to be in an arcade near you. Want one for your personal arcade? Pick it up for £3,999.99 ($7,895). — Andrew Dobrow

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What’s Apple gonna do with all that junk? All that junk in the next gen iPod’s trunk! I’ll tell you exactly what Apple is going to do. They’re going to drive us all crazy with the suspense until it’s released. A newly released patent suggests that the next iPod release will have a touch surface on its backside, with the front display being basically a wide screen non-touch display.

Is this a good idea? Perhaps, and here’s why. Without the main display being a touch screen, it would eliminate much of the matience and cleaning needed if you were to be touching the main screen all day. Can you imagine the fingerprints that would get on that thing? The back touch surface will navigate through ghost controls that will activate when the surface is touched and will rely heavily on force activation, or the amount of pressure applied to its interface. Let’s just hope Apple has a really good way not to have this surface activated by simply placing it on a table or something. — Andrew Dobrow

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Everybody has their own Apple predictions and this announcement will do nothing, but add to the speculation. It’s being reported that Apple is planning to order 500 million Samsung NAND flash drives by the end of the month. Now, what could they be doing with all of that damn flash?

Sources say that the acquired flash drives will be used in the iPhone and the iPod, which would confirm the appearance of a flash drive in the ever-popular media player. Specifically, the source sites iPods made between June 2007 (around the release of the iPhone) and December 2007 (just in time for a new iPod model release for Christmas?). One theory points at a 6th generation video iPod, another points towards an iPhone without the phone part. Perhaps a touch screen iPod? Whatever it will be, we are eagerly awaiting. — Andrew Dobrow

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Anyone who’s familiar with the Final Fantasy series of video games remembers the cute little chocobos and how entertaining they are. Square Enix announces the newest Final Fantasy game, Chocobo Tales, for the Nintendo DS Console, due out April 3, 2007.

Chocobo Tales is said to have story line references which play back all the way to the original Final Fantasy. Executive Producer Shinji Hashimoto says he is “confident that fans of both Final Fantasy and Nintendo alike will enjoy this exciting title.” Featuring the innovative touch screen and stylus trademarks of DS, mixed with classic characters from the Final Fantasy world, is sure to make a interesting, and fun game. Available April 3 for $30. — Andrew Dobrow

Chocobo Tales Page [Square Enix, via GWN]