hello friends! new(ish)!
Fidget Cube
The Fidget Cube is a toy for people who lack calm hands and always need something to fiddle with. The idea was originally published (and successfully funded) by Antsy Labs on Kickstarter, but many Chinese clones appeared and went on sale earlier than the original version.
Features
There are several knobs and buttons to play with on the six sides of the cube:
- Joystick or slider
- Rocker switch
- Five buttons, some are clicky and some silent
- Spinning disk
- Three rollers/gears and a rotating shiny ball
- Oval shaped indent (does nothing)
The body of the cube measures approximately 3 cm on each side (not including the parts that stick out).
As of January 2017 the original Fidget Cubes haven't arrived and haven't been reviewed, so there's a slight variation of features found on the cloned versions. For example, some cubes have rubberized buttons while others don't, some cubes allow you to press/click the shiny ball and joystick, the number of clicky buttons differs and so on.
Comparison of Fidget Cubes
The following table shall give an overview of some Chinese clones, their features and flaws.
| Vendor | Joystick/Slider | Rocker switch | 5 buttons | Spinning disk | 3 rollers | Shiny ball | Oval indent | Price | Packaging | Surface | Flaws | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ebay (rightyoung, possibly others) | Joystick | Rubberized, 3 clicky, 2 silent | No resistance | Clicky | ~$8 | Cardboard box that slides apart | Matte/smooth | Joystick[1] | Can be opened by lifting the spinning disk (with a knife or thin plastic tool) and undoing two small Philips screws underneath, comes apart without force. Rocker switch resistance is done with magnets. | |||
| Ebay | Joystick | Hard to move | Hard to move | Folding cardboard box that opens on top | Build quality [2] | |||||||
| Gearbest | Joystick | Plastic, all clicky [3] | Hard to move | $5 | Matte/smooth | Joystick, build quality, loud buttons [4] | ||||||
| Fidgetbye | Joystick | 2 clicky, 3 silent [5] | ||||||||||
| Aliexpress (rock club, possibly others) | Joystick | Build quality [6] | ||||||||||
| Antsy Labs (Kickstarter original) | Slider | $25 | Pre-order only |
Common flaws
- The joystick is prone to get stuck pretty quickly. This may be due to wear and tear on the metal ball inside, which rubs against a another metal plate, causing a flat surface there on the ball. Applying some grease might or might not help.
- Build quality is hit-or-miss.