Apple’s iPhone Bluetooth wireless headset revels in its minimal design. But what’s to say that it couldn’t handle a little extra sophistication and elan?

German jewelry designer Andi Monn took the opportunity to dress up the iPhone’s earpiece with these striking metal covers…

Now I’m sympathetic to those who have fallen on hard times, many of us still find people who beg for money to be irritating. So why someone would go through the trouble of building a robot that begs for spare change is anyone’s guess…

Oktoberfest may be months away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start preparing now, does it? If only we could get our grubby little paws on one of these super special Super Mario Brothers 1up ’shroom beer mugs, we’d be ready to belly up to the bar right now…

This interactive art display takes data it collects on passing traffic and displays moving images which react to vehicles as they drive by…

This might look like a curtain of randomly assorted lighting fixtures. But it’s actually an interactive video display that can detect movements of passersby and mimic them using light.

Entitled Space Invaders 2008, the light installation uses a grid of 176 unique lighting fixtures to work its magic…

This chunky metal watch displays the time on a pair of side-by-side LCD screens.

The German-designed MF dual LCD watch displays the hours and minutes on the left side, as the seconds scroll by on the right one. The watch has a heavy duty steel case and adjustable band as well as a scratch-resistant mineral glass face…

I’m not sure how I missed this amazing interactive display concept when it first surfaced, but it’s cool enough that I thought it deserved a mention, even if it is but a distant memory.

The system used an array of thousands of individual mechanical irises, each designed to react to the amount of light in front of it…

Do you ever find yourself sitting at your computer, toiling away in your e-mail box when those late afternoon hunger pangs hit you? This laptop out of Germany might help you get your blood sugar going…

On very rare occasion, I’ll see something that truly knocks me off my feet. That time is now. The Troja Arc Lamp is simply awe inspiring.

Designed by Germany’s hansandfranz studio, the lamp features a sweeping arc that emits a warm halo of light around its subject…

These unique lighting fixtures out of Germany reuse old dead light bulbs to create dramatic sculptural lamps.

Bulbs Unlimited sells kits that let you create fixtures like the ones pictured here from your own recycled bulbs. The kits include everything you need to make these cool designer fixtures except for the bulbs themselves…

If you’re looking for some deluxe speakers to complement your shmancy crystal radio, look no further than these noisemakers from ELAC.

Their new 240 series speakers feature drivers that look like crystal. They’re made from aluminum covered with a angled crystalline surface that mimics the look of a cut precious gem…

Ok, I’ll say it now. This music player only plays one tune, “Voi Che Sapete,” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, but it sure looks cool doing it.

The Music Orb is a perfectly smooth wooden globe that contains a tiny mechanical music box…

In my recent quest for unique lighting fixtures, I came across this minimal LED light source out of Germany.

The tiny fixture has a bright color-changing LED projector at the end of a flexible gooseneck. The light head clips onto a special 4.5-volt battery base that can provide up to 150 hours of illumination…

Ever wonder what’s inside those “top secret”-looking aluminum briefcases you see in spy movies?

Designed by famous German model maker Faller, this case is filled with a tiny little slot car track, complete with 1/87th scale racers and two remotes for controlling your cars…