The new XCM Crystal Controller Kit not only redresses your 360 controller in a spiffy clear skin, but it also adds a brand new oversize D-pad that’s designed to prevent you from mistakenly pressing it in the wrong direction.

I can speak from experience when I say there’s nothing worse than accidentally selecting that plasma rifle when you meant to select the rocket launcher.

Of course, the best part of the Crystal Controller is that it comes pre-wired with a gorgeous array of nine colorful LEDs which illuminate the A/B/X/Y, back, start, dashboard and shoulder buttons.

You can get your grubby little paws on the complete Crystal Controller kit over on RenChi for $29.90.

What makes the Block Light really cool is the fact that you can rearrange the pieces into pretty much any configuration you’d like.

The kit comes with 219 small, 16 medium, and 4 large heat-resistant clear acrylic blocks which can hold up to the heat of a 40-watt lightbulb. Of course, if snapping all those blocks has you intimidated, you could always buy one of these giant LEGO block lamps instead.

Ready to build your own custom lamp? Head on over to RED5 and plunk down your £25 (appx. $45 USD) for the kit. Keep in mind that RED5 is located in the UK, which operates on 240-volt power, so you might need to swap out the plug and lightbulb for use in North America.

Just slip your laptop into one of these oversize plastic sleeves, press the zip seal closed, and it protects your precious portable from the elements. Once your laptop is safely inside the bag, it should resist drips, rainwater and dust (and presumably spills of Red Bull too).

Keep in mind that the design isn’t 100% waterproof, as there are holes in the back to provide ventilation for your computer. That said, I don’t recommend throwing your laptop into the swimming pool in any event.

Japan’s Thanko offers the weather resistant plastic sleeves in two sizes, so most laptops should fit in one or the other. They retail for ¥1980 each (appx. US$20). Now all you have to do is figure out how to read Japanese, and convince them to ship them overseas.

In the mean time, start breaking out some Ziploc freezer bags and see what you can MacGyver together for yourself.

Created by Chinese display manufacturer Seekway, this prototype 3D LED display cube was created using a 16×16x16 grid of interconnected color LEDs (that’s a whopping 4096 individual diodes).

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The system is capable of displaying animations at up to 30 frames per second and each dot can be individually addressed for both color and intensity.

Now that the prototype is complete, Seekway is gearing up to produce versions with grids as large as 48×48x48, which will require more than 110,000 LEDs. Wow.

While Nextime’s Fallen Numeral clock does have a functional time mechanism, it really couldn’t give a damn about the actual time. Sure, the hands will move if you put a battery in there, but I certainly wouldn’t point them to the proper locations on the dial or that would defeat the purpose.

The clock measures just under 14-inches square and features a frosted glass background with black numerals. It’s available from Target for just $29.95.

I’m particularly enamored of the fiery Red Ronin case as well as the luscious emerald Green Tanto.

In addition to the intense primary colors, the Evolve case series comes in chrome, black and clear variants among others.

The cases offer complete coverage of your entire Wii console, including replacement feet and screw covers. Talismoon even includes the tools you need to swap out the shell.

You can find the complete series from ConsoleShop for $39.99 each.

The display features a simulated analog clock face along with a digital readout for a secondary time zone. It’s also got day, date and alarm functions so it’ll even work as a bedside clock if you don’t mind the lack of backlighting. Plus, it’s battery-powered so you won’t have any cords running around. The World Panel Clock is available from CB2 for $24.95.

Designers Soner Ozenc and John Wischhusen created these electroluminescent butterflies called GloWings. Each see-through winged critter is loaded with blue electroluminescent wire to produce a soft blue-green glow. They can be hung on a wall, or from a ceiling, and look really cool when you have a bunch of them hanging together in a group.

They can run on either AAA batteries or on AC current (it sounds like they only include a European A/C adapter, so you might need to grab your own). You can net these butterflies for yourself from Generate for $139 USD each.

[via Funfurde]

The clear, ice-like acrylic case inspired the name “Alaska” for this LCD calculator. While the pictures might make it look white, you can really see all the way through it, meaning that it transforms into whatever color lies beneath it.

When looking at the calculator from off-angle, the numbers virtually vanish beneath the tall cylindrical buttons. However, when looking head-on, the digits are completely visible. I also dig the cool dot-matrix LCD screen that’s got mod square pixels. The manufacturer, Area Plus, also makes a version with removable buttons “for fun & play game,” but I’m not sure why you’d want to do that.

The Alaska acrylic calculator can be found on Japanese online boutique Cataloger, and retails for ¥3675 (about $32 USD).

From what I’ve heard, the metal of the inner part of the display has been cantilevered out into a clear section of the metal case to produce a dramatic face that you can see right through. A textured leather band provides a nice contrast to the ultra-modern watch face.

Pricing hasn’t yet been revealed for these latest Starck watches, but I’ve been told to look for them on the Fossil website this Fall.

[UPDATE 8/28: These watches are now available here. The square version is called the Starckore and the round version is called the Satelitum, and they range in price from $150 to $160.]

These Toobe lamps can be ordered in either clear, or imbued with a splash of primary color. The unique design provides ambient and directed light as well as sculptural appeal when turned off.

Lumens.com offers these lamps in both a floor standing version ($606 USD) or a smaller, tabletop variant ($275 USD.) Colors include blue, green, red, orange and crystal.

[via Gadgetgarden.nl]

The projection clock is housed in a see-through acrylic shell which shows off the unique optics and mechanical components that generate the clock image.

The projector works from up to 13-feet away to produce a clock face around 5-feet in diameter. It should be plenty bright thanks to its 50-watt halogen light source. The I.D.E.A. Projection clock costs ¥15,750 (appx. $133 USD), and can be found on the Transit website.

Versions are expected for both video iPods and Nanos by the end of the year and are expected to run between $20 and $35 including free installation.

[via Uncrate]

The minimal briefcase-style design features a unique transparent plastic enclosure. There’s a dock for a Nokia music-capable phone (not sure if anything else will dock there), and then two substantive speakers with all their guts exposed for the world to see. The Nokia boombox is currently slated for release in Finland. Plans for other markets are unknown.

[via The Cool Hunter]