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43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun and Competent Modern Update to the Ultimate 1980's Toy, October 28, 2009
Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars
Technosource's Rubik's TouchCube answers a question that probably no one asked, but it is so much fun we probably shouldn't mind. Overall the TouchCube is fairly easy to use and by being electronic adds enough on top of the classic cube to make a decent argument for its existence.
First I would like to provide product description clarifications:
1. The top face is the only face that you can directly move - the toy contains an orientation sensor so you are not accidentally rotating the sides or bottom with your hands while you hold it.
2. This 3 inch cube comes in a 6 inch box (for reference the original Rubik's cube was a 2.25 inch cube)
3. The cube weights 13 ounces, not quite a pound, but much more than the 3.5 ounce original cube
4. The toy may very well contain 3 AA batteries, but you cannot access or change them - they recharge through an included base
Pros:
1. Lots of cool features - including hint, auto-solve, undo, a volume controller (9-level, 2-mode), on-off button, and a scramble button - 6 features in all, each accessed by pressing twice or holding down the center square of a given face.
2. The colors are very vibrant and lots of fun - they are brighter than the pictures
3. The auto-solve feature uses a common set of steps to solve the green face first, then the sides and finally the blue face. Note this may not be the fewest moves to solve the cube, but it is a reliable, reproducible and easy way to learn how to solve any 3x3 cube. The solver can be stopped at any point if you wish to continue yourself.
4. Easy to charge with a fun to watch "screensaver" mode
5. Falls to sleep after a period of non-use and saves your progress to conserve batteries.
Cons:
1. The hint mode seems to abandon the common steps mentioned in #3 above and use the shortest number of steps to solve the cube. This means the cube appears to be a jumble with no apparent progress until voila - it is solved at the last moment.
2. Expensive - this product is A LOT of money
3. Difficult to rotate the top face about the z-axis. It is easier to simply rotate the whole cube and then turn along the x or y axis.
4. Can only rotate the top face - most top rotations would affect the bottom faces, but occasionally you have to reorient the cube to turn a face near the bottom. At first this is not intuitive, but easy to pick up and will force you to visualize the cube in a mentally engaging way.
Toss-ups:
1. Rotating the cube takes a deliberate finger swipe - not exactly easy, but not difficult either
2. The cube gets a little warm, not hot though. This is kind of odd, but no big deal.
Overall the electronic Rubik's Cube is a good toy, albeit expensive. It capitalizes on the "apparent simplicity" of many other popular electronics by offering not too many easy-to-use features. This cube is a must-have for any die-hard 80's enthusiast.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A step forward in tech, a step backwards in practicality., December 14, 2009
Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars
I was given one of these recently as an early holiday present from my family. After a week or so of owning an using it, I have to say that I feel it's a great little toy and an excellent gift for the cube or puzzle adict in the house (which would be me), BUT one that's not without its quirks.
First, the positives - the TouchCube has a lot going for it. It's mysterious, bearing all white faces when off, becoming instantly recognizable as a Rubik's cube as soon as its turned on. The whole "touch" thing is something that everyone loves... that whole "manipulating something with no visible buttons or switches" thing never gets old. It's very bright, especially when used in the dark, and the colors are accurate to those classic cube colors. It works like a traditional cube so it's solved like a traditional cube. The extra features that being computerized provides though will help some users out quite a lot. The "hint" feature is cool but I'd say it's hard to really learn from. The old solution guide that comes with the current regular cubes is a lot more helpful. Being able to have the computer solve the cube is nice for someone that just wants to start over. In this sense, the TC may help more people get into the cube again because it seems less "impossible" than before.
Negatives - High price. When a regular cube is [...] at Target, charging [...] is a bit steep, but the technology in this little guy does warrant the price... there's a decent CPU in there handling the solutions, 6 color LED panels, 9 per side, an accelerometer to determine orientation... I do understand that it's a very sophisticated little guy, but that price will scare some people away. The only other big problem is actually solving the thing. Because you have to manipulate the top face, and all other faces, this can cause a lot of disorientation if you're used to solving the cube a different way. It only took a day to adjust, but my solve times on the touch cube are about 20 minutes, vs about 2 1/2 for a regular cube thanks to a combination of having to re-think some moves and the fact that you have to rotate the whole cube instead of just turning it from the bottom. Isn't technology supposed to make things more efficient/better/faster? Finally - dead spots. There are some parts of my particular TC that just don't respond well to swipes. Sometimes 2 or 3 swipes are needed or sometimes it'll flip the cube the wrong way... if you don't notice it go the wrong way this can undo a lot of your solution work, forcing you to re-do a bunch of steps. If you DO notice it though, and haven't progressed too far, the "UNDO" feature is a boon. These seem to be getting better with use though, so it's hard to say if the dead spots will be a permanent problem.
So in short, it's not 100% perfect, but the TouchCube is a great conversation piece and for those that just like the Rubik's cube enough to overcome the high price, it's worth it. I would recommend a regular cube first though, if you're shopping for someone that doesn't already have one. That way, if they just don't enjoy it, you're only out 1/15th the cost.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Piece of junk, January 14, 2010
Durability:2.0 out of 5 stars Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars
I like the idea, but the touch cube is just not any good. The cube misunderstands about 1/4 of the moves you make. Causing you to have to un-do them. It is extremely frustrating to make the cube move the way you want it to. Also, the battery life is horrible. After a full charge you only get about 20 mins of play. I feel bad for people who bought this at it's original price. I feel bad for spending $50 on it myself. It will probably be put away in some obscure drawer in my house and then be given away to Goodwill when I clean that drawer out a few years later.
The original Rubiks Cube is not a toy that needs any improvement. This is just a pretty square that lights up. If you have mastered the original cube and want a new challenge you should try the Rubik's Mirrors Cube. Or of course the Rubiks 4x4 or 5x5 cubes.
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