Old & New: Rubik's Cube Vs Touch Cube, Which One Is Better?

The Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Ern? Rubik a Hungarian sculptor and professor  of architecture. This toy was originally called the "Magic Cube" and was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toys in 1980. By the same year this toy won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle. As of January 2009, 350 million cubes have sold worldwide, making it the world's top-selling puzzle game.  It is widely considered to be the world's best-selling toy.

The original Rubik's Cube is build as a six faces cube of six solid colors which are ussually red, green, yellow, blue, orange, and white. A pivot mechanism enables each face to turn independently, thus mixing up the colors. The goal for the puzzle is to make each face to be the same solid color.

When Ernõ Rubik first envisioned his venerable cube, he imagined intricately machined and assembled pieces of plastic pivoting on six axles, smoothly shifting positions into any of a possible 43 quintillion arrangements of pieces. Never existed in his imagination that there will be an electronic version like this one here!

In 2009, a Hong Kong based company called Techno Source released a new type of Rubik’s Cube called Rubik’s Touch Cube, after spending three years of research. This cube, with sensor-based technology, is the world’s first completely electronic, interactive puzzle cube.

The Rubik’s Touch Cube was presented at the American International Toy Fair on February 15-18, 2009; and was made to the public in the fall of 2009 with a $149.99 list price. The new Touch Cube is actually the 3rd version of the classic Rubik’s Cube puzzle. The original Rubik’s Cube remained virtually unchanged for over two decades until the multi-level electronic Rubik’s Revolution was developed and nominated for the Toy Industry Association Game of the Year in 2008.

Now, how does the Rubik's Touch Cube compare to the other two versions?

The object of the game remains the same among the different versions – you rotate the six different colors around the cube until each of the six sides show only one specific color. Achieving this end result may take hours, years, or for many people - never be accomplished. At first glance, the TouchCube may look like a regular puzzle cube; however, there are no moveable parts. You do not have to manually turn a side of squares to try and line up the colors in a specific order.

On the Touch Cube, all of the six sides are designed to be interactive with the touch of your finger. Each block will light a bright color and as you swipe your fingers the squares will move accordingly.

Through the touch technology sensor, you can swipe your fingers to move the pieces from one side to another. The Cube features a built-in accelerometer that allows the internal mechanism to know which side is facing up, as well as reading the speed of a finger swipe across the blocks appropriately. The sensor technology of the Touch Cube will only move the squares through finger swipes on the top of the cube, so you do not have to worry about holding or touching the sides of the cube during game play. The accelerometer allows you to rotate the cube so any of the sides become the interactive top.

You can watch the tiles rearrange themselves after you swipe your finger across the top face. You can Spin, Rotate, or even drag another face to the side you wanted. If you get stuck, you can press the "hint" button and ask it for help! It'll will give a clue of what the next possible move. If you are frustrated, don't attempt to tear down the pieces apart! You can just watch the puzzle solves by itself after you press the "solve" button. Its an excellent toy?

So, is the high tech one is better or worse than the original/classic? Well, the new Touch Cube is a perfect toy to amaze your friends. While the toy is not perfect yet, it’s good enough to entertain you with your friends, or as a tool to gather all family members. While for some old fashioned guys, the classic Rubik’s Cube might be enough.