Synology’s freshly announced DS409Slim NAS keeps things nice, simple and compact. Small? Yes, but you’ll still get four bays for 2.5-inch drives of your choice (up to 2TB total). The company says that using 2.5″ drives increases tolerance for physical shocks, reduces power consumption and results in a smaller footprint. Lower power consumption also allows the cooling fan to stay off “under normal operating conditions” with even four drives installed.

Specs include a 1.2GHz Marvell processor, 128MB of RAM, two USB ports, and one eSATA port. It also features DLNA certification and support for UPnP and other features. It will start shipping this month for about $400.

If you believe that the iPhone is all set to become the new platform for portable gaming, why not dress it up appropriately, with a retro gaming classic? It’s a Game Boy on the outside and an iPhone on the inside.

Plus, it’s ironic. And adorable. And protective. And only $15. Seriously, if you call yourself a geek, you have to own this. Or the Playstation version. Your iPhone will suffer an identity crisis and may even start displaying in monochrome.

Somewhere in a parallel universe where Atari is still king, this is what their flash drives look like. In our world USB flash drives are small and come in all sorts of shapes that are smaller than an Atari cartridge. Except this one.

The Atari USB flash drive comes with a USB cable to plug into your computer since the thing is too big to just hang off the USB port. It does evoke some nostalgia from those of us old enough to remember the Atari 2600.

First they offered their customers WiFi, now McDonalds is installing electric vehicle charging stations for the handful of you with electric cars. They are starting in Cary North Carolina, where McDonalds will be the first to offer car recharging via the ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations.

One of the barriers to electric vehicle is the lack of charging infrastructure. So this is bigger news than it might seem like at first. and I suppose this is one way to improve things. Mickey D may not be the most ideal place to charge your car, but this will lead to better options for sure.

TechCrunch claims that they have heard evidence that the next generation iPod Touch will have a built in video camera. One of their sources in Asia says that Apple has placed an order for a massive number of camera modules of the type that they include in the iPhone.

The source says that due to the size of the order, they can only be used for one thing – the iPods. Since May it has been rumored that the iPod Touch would get a camera. When Apple does update the new iPod Touch, it seems likely that they will also upgrade the device to the more powerful processor and graphics chips that were introduced in the iPhone 3GS.

Smartphone sales are booming despite the poor economy as users flock to the devices in part because they can perform the tasks of several other devices. One of the tasks many smartphones can perform is GPS navigation.

The recent iPhone OS 3.0 update added the ability for apps that charge on a recurring basis. One of the first apps to do this was the AT&T Navigator app at $9.99 per month. According to ABI research, the global handset navigation market is set to hit 26 million by 2010.

I have talked before about the CrunchPad when a prototype of the device was unveiled back in January. I though the device looked like a kid’s toy back then, thankfully the CrunchPad has been redesigned and is getting close to a launch date. The new design looks very Apple-like.

The NYT reports that Michael Arrington has incorporated a new company called CrunchTablet and is set to make an announcement in late July or early August with availability of the device coming soon after. The CrunchPad is said to cost under $300 and have a screen at least 12-inches.

When GPS devices first started to become popular as options on vehicles, they were mainly limited to high-end luxury cars. As the price of GPS technology has come down, more and more vehicles and motorcycles are adding GPS options and many are opting for portable navigation devices.

Garmin and BMW have announced the introduction of a new GPS device that is customized for BMW motorcycle owners called the BMW Motrrad Navigator IV. The device has custom BMW features including a custom mount, preloaded BMW dealer database, and audio and Bluetooth capabilities.

I am a big fan of the Battlefield franchise and have played most of the games in the series. I really like games like this when they are set in modern times like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, but going old school is cool too.

EA and Dice have announced that the next iteration of the franchise is set to debut on the Xbox and PS3 on July 8 and 9th as a download only. The good news for fans of the franchise is that the game is cheap at $15 or 1200 MS points.

Not everyone wants to pay hundreds of dollars for top of the line sound and quality looks. But others take a more minimal approach to speakers. For those people, you can now purchase a kit to create your very own DIY speakers. As a bonus, they’re eco-friendly.

The kit comes with everything you’ll need for the speakers including things to decorate them with. We find it interesting that they don’t say whether the crayons/pencils are eco-friendly or not. The cardboard set of speakers can be found for $18 through Urban Outfitters. It would be a great project for the kids.

Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone will be a high-end touchscreen device that will take on the iPhone, according to a Danish scoop. Codenamed “Rachel,” the phone would fit into the XPERIA line occupied only by the X1 but would emphasize speed. Like the Windows Mobile-based Toshiba TG01, it would have a high-end 1GHZ Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It may also compete against the iPhone 3GS with “great” 3D graphics capabilities.

The device will also feature an 8-megapixel autofocusing camera, 3G up to 7.2Mbps and a large display. The company has previously gone on record saying that its first Android phone will use Android 2.0 and so have at least the device-wide search and other features being added to the release.

Once in a while something truly useful surfaces for the Nintendo DS. This is a blood glucose meter plugs into the DS / DS Lite’s Slot-2. Consistent glucose testing by the diabetic child (or adult?) is rewarded with points in a game that can be used to buy items or unlock levels. Sadly the new DSi doesn’t have a Slot-2, so those kids will be left out.

Bayer’s DIDGET meter was developed in conjunction with Paul Wessel, the parent of a child with type 1 diabetes. Paul noticed that his son was constantly losing his blood glucose meter, but he always knew where to find his Nintendo Game Boy. That inspired Paul and Bayer to work together to develop the first and only blood glucose meter that connects to the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite.

Looks like iLive has updated its iPod Boombox from its earlier version from a few years ago. The latest generation keeps the same similar design intact, but with a little more of a purse feeling. Will the ladies love these? Somehow I doubt it.

The design is curvier and compliments the latest iPod Nano pretty nice if you like this sort of thing. The iLive Portable Dock for iPod with Radio IB109P will play all iPod generations and will let you connect just about any external music source via the AUX jack. The AM/FM radio gives you an option aside from what’s on your device.

After five versions, Ben Heck’s portable Xbox 360 mods are still awesome. He just keeps getting better and better. This latest version looks like a Mac product when closed, and features a 17-inch Gateway LCD panel. Some improvements on this one include a Jasper motherboard, a flush-mount DVD door and side panels, digital potentiometer / button volume controls, and an ethernet port in addition to WiFi.

He ditched the camera, but there’s still two USB ports. It’s the only white-colored Xbox 360 laptop he’s built since the original. The man continues to be the Leonardo DaVinci of gaming consoles.

Remember that cool working Lego safe we featured awhile back? Well now somebody has created a fully functional Lego combination safe. Just put all of your valuables in this thing and they will be…well, not safe really. We’re talking Legos. But it might be fun to build one.

Just follow Merijn van Wouden’s lead and the link for detailed step-by-step instructions and a cool video to show how the mechanisms work. Hey, you gotta put your monopoly money somewhere.