Unveiling of the most anticipated V-CUBE 3

[Kirjava]

I like that all the speedcubers I know are trying to get hold of Guhong2 instead of VCube.

 

[Cheese11]

Has anyone got a new v-cube with torpedoes? I'm wondering if they pulled them after the hubbub.

MM&P got his with torps

 

[Stefan]

Why the hell can't people understand that the images in the patent are completely irrelevant.

It annoys me as well that almost everybody is just pointing out the images and ignoring the text, but I wouldn't call the images "completely irrelevant". They do show how Verdes apparently envisioned the V-3 or how they chose to present it to demonstrate how "unified" their different size cubes are, which they emphasized in the patent. While both those images and the actual V-3 do fit the patent claims text(*) and while having a patent doesn't mean that you must follow it but that others must not, changing your parameters drastically so it looks like another cube does give the impression that you copied the parameters from the other cube and that you're a hypocrite if you lamented about copying yourself. Of course maybe Verdes came up with the new parameters on its own, but then again, maybe Dayan came up with the GuHong on its own as well. So Verdes shouldn't expect less criticism now than they handed out back then.

(*) except maybe for minor details, would have to check again

 

[radmin]

My DIY's came with torpedoes. But one has broken already. If the cube were any good I'd try taking them out. When a torpedo broke I looked at the remaining ones. They wiggle in the slot.

Here is my quick summary. The cube has potential but would require lots of modding. The corners are too square. When it locks it locks bad. It distorts and locks in a distorted position.

My Black DIY was missing the screws, center caps and orange stickers. So far no reply from the company about getting replacements.

 

[Dene]

My Black DIY was missing the screws, center caps and orange stickers. So far no reply from the company about getting replacements.

As long as your contact with them was sensible (and in saying this I am not implying in any way that you may have been rude, but if someone were to be rude in such a manner they bring any repercussions on themselves) you should get that soon, but bear in mind how busy they must be at the moment.

 

[qqwref]

As long as your contact with them was sensible you should get that soon, but bear in mind how busy they must be at the moment.

Yeah, I hope so... I have not heard the best things about V-Cube's email responding service lately.

 

[Pixel 6]

Got mine today and laughed.

It's a Black V3- NIB.

They require signatures on the UPS shipping, and missed the UPS guy 2 days in a row. Finally had to drive 30 miles to pick it up from the UPS will-call center.

So, moving right into it.

Center caps are glued down, and it's NOT adjustable. News to me. They should have put this info on their site. (DIY is adjustable) Edges, and corner pieces are glued together. (not a bad idea to some extent) The centers have uneven tensions that can not be adjusted now however. The screws (rivits?) are all set differently, which causes the core to be permenently off center... Like a Rubik's brand... You get what you get.

It was too tight, and I could not get an edge out... Until I found one of the two edges where they forgot to include the torpedos. Yep... two of the twelve torpedos missing... And the edges are glued together... So how can they fix this? Send me two torpedos? Nope.

Good parts. Stickers look great, were centered, and nice and large. Size and weight of the cube are what I'd expect a speedcube to be. Nice rounded external feel, no sharp edges.

Design flaws... Glued down center caps? Were these cubes made to compete with the empty spot next to a Rubik's brand in Wal-Mart? Price is right then...

Internal corner caps are recessed, which causes really bad lock-ups as the corners slide across the lip of the edges and center piece. Using Roux (method I use) M's lock on me a ton. When doing M's and U's it reminded me a lot of the Rubiks feel.

Also, they missed the purpose of the wings when they stole Dayan's torpedo design (yea, I said it). The wings are there to keep the torpedos stepped away from the edge, and keep the torpedos from constantly touching anything on the inside, be it a corner or an edge until there is a position on the cube (45°) that would cause a pop... Then the torpedos grab the corners on the inside keeping it from popping.

With all their research and development, they seemed to miss this. In the V3 the torpedos are in constant contact with the corner when turning 45°. And because their torpedos don't step off the edge far enough, the internal edge hits the adjacent torpedo on every turn. This results in constant clicking, and some lock-ups.

I found it amusing getting this cube in. I have hundreds of different types of puzzles in my personal collection... And this is the first time I've felt duped... (cube plus shipping to my home was around $35 USD)

This cube would have had potential 2 years ago... But in comparison of the current market, swing and a miss.

I'm not sure wether to send it back for a refund, set it on fire for a ceremonious YouTube review, or put it on my mantle next to an ELITE for a good laugh now and then.

My advice? Save your money and buy an Alpha-Feng.

- Pixel -

 

[CrazyBadCuber]

After talking to Konstantinos Verdes for quite some time at the MN competition last year, I really got a glimpse of his personality. He can be a nice guy on the surface, but if you say something that he doesn't necessarily agree with, he can be a dick. I think the whole using the torpedos thing is their way of sticking it to the "chinese companies"...I mean I'd be pissed off too if YJ pulled copyright infringement like that.

He talked about they actually had a physical run in at a certain toy fair that the both of them were attending and they had "YJ kicked out of the place". I have no clue what all is the true story; but it was just interesting to meet him in person. I went away with very mixed feelings for the Verdes family that day.

He is extremely sensitive about the whole copyright thing. And i'm sure the little bit of language barrier doesn't help. I'm not even sure if he is the main PR guy. And whoever it is needs to be fired. The posting on Facebook sounds so unprofessional.

I was the one he was talking to and YES it was Verdes himself making those dumb comments.

I think people were missing the point of what I was saying in my video that people have been passing around. I didn't say that V Cubes don't have the right to change the design as I've read the patent and I understand that it's the way the pieces hold onto each other and the basic way the puzzle acts. Of course they can change the way it looks. HOWEVER, why do all the other cubes they have put out look exactly like they do in the pictures in the patent. It's totally relevant that the V3 looks nothing like the patent. All the others do. So my point is this... they could have changed the way the V3 is sure.... but why to exactly the same as a guhong? Chance? Maybe... but highly doubtful. Same with the torpedo's. They would have to be really really oblivious to the speed cube community to not know about torpedo's. Give me a break.

So yes, Dayan copied V Cubes but they made the V3 BETTER. Dayan took what was there and improved upon it to make a superior cube. V Cubes has the rights to this and I believe VERY strongly that V Cubes knew that their inferior design of the V3 wouldn't stand a chance against Dayan so they copied Dayan. So they are a rip off of each other. The Dayan is a knock off of V Cubes, but the new V3 design is a knock off of Dayans Guhong design. PLAIN. AND. SIMPLE. Buy a V3 and buy Guhong. Then study both cubes and look and read the patent front to back and tell me I'm wrong. They are both in the wrong. It doesn't matter that V Cubes have it patented. They didn't go with their original V3 design and took an improved version that somebody else has made.

People are completely missing the point of the video I made and turned it into me saying that Dayan made the design first. I never said that. People need to listen to what they are hearing. that's why I took the video off my channel and I don't know how it's still playing here when it's set to private. That video was half made to show people that the V3 is NOT V Cubes patented design and also to show how they treat people.

Thanks

Dan (CrazyBadCuber)

 

[Meep]

they could have changed the way the V3 is sure.... but why to exactly the same as a guhong?

Because DaYan copied V-Cubes with the GuHong (Group the wings with the edges instead of with the corner pieces, as if you were doing redux).

They would have to be really really oblivious to the speed cube community to not know about torpedo's. Give me a break.

I'd imagine if my first language wasn't english, I wouldn't know what the heck a 'torpedo' in a cube would be. Whether I was in tune with the community or not, an 'anchor' would probably make more sense.

It doesn't matter that V Cubes have it patented. They didn't go with their original V3 design and took an improved version that somebody else has made.

Legally it matters, and the pictures, like stated numerous times throughout, aren't representative of the original design. Even though the other ones look like the pictures, they likely went through many revisions before that, and had the same possibility of being modified. In the case of the V3, it was as if they bandaged a V5 like how we do our reduction, as opposed to the outer two layers being bandaged (like their pictures).

People need to listen to what they are hearing.

I know, right?

That video was half made to show people that the V3 is NOT V Cubes patented design

But it is!

and also to show how they treat people.

This is probably the main valid point IMO.

 

[andyfreeman]

G
It was too tight, and I could not get an edge out... Until I found one of the two edges where they forgot to include the torpedos. Yep... two of the twelve torpedos missing... And the edges are glued together... So how can they fix this? Send me two torpedos? Nope.


- Pixel -

I've heard a lot of people say that there are torps missing. I suspect this is deliberate: so they can assemble it.

 

[Godmil]

I've heard a lot of people say that there are torps missing. I suspect this is deliberate: so they can assemble it.

I can see that being true... I can also see that as being a really stupid decision.

 

[Yes We Can!]

Just got mine.
A screw broke while I was turning it..........
That's some damn fine quality.

 

[Eleredo]

Just another 3x3, oh god why. :fp There are already tons of good 3x3's. Why don't they just go ahead and make a 8x8 and 9x9. :confused:

Just got mine.
A screw broke while I was turning it..........
That's some damn fine quality.

That's what I mean. They should leave the 3x3's to the cunning hands of the real masters such as Dayan. V-Cube should stay with bigger cubes, they're already known for that.

 

[ThomasJE]

I've heard a lot of people say that there are torps missing. I suspect this is deliberate: so they can assemble it.

What could fix that? Oh, screws! Adjustable screws!
It's pretty obvious, so why not put them in the pre-assembled version? This just shows that they should stick to what they do best - big cubes. I can't see them making a 4x4 that rivals Shengshou and Dayan+MF8.

 

[andyfreeman]

What could fix that? Oh, screws! Adjustable screws!
It's pretty obvious, so why not put them in the pre-assembled version?

From a production engineer's point of view, assuming they are riveted or are screws set to a set distance, easy of assembly = faster production time = higher hourly yield = more money. If those are rivets then they could assembly cores extremely quickly.

 

[CrazyBadCuber]

Legally it matters, and the pictures, like stated numerous times throughout, aren't representative of the original design. Even though the other ones look like the pictures, they likely went through many revisions before that, and had the same possibility of being modified. In the case of the V3, it was as if they bandaged a V5 like how we do our reduction, as opposed to the outer two layers being bandaged (like their pictures).

I'm not talking about legal issues here. I'm talking about what is done. Are you telling me that if Dayan didn't make any kind of cube that V Cubes would have revised their original design and it STILL would have ended up looking exactly like a guhong, torpedo's and all? I seriously doubt it. I'm sure they would have gone with their original design JUST like all the other cubes have been. Dayan copied V Cubes, I NEVER said they didn't, but you have to admit, they also copied the Guhong. It doesn't matter if English is not their first language. I've talked to Verdes personally about this matter and trust me, he speaks English just fine! lol. Do you really think that a cube company of this magnitude would not watch some YouTube video's and would not listen to what other people say about other cubes. How the hell would they have torpedo's in their cubes without ever hearing about them?

I understand your probably a V Cubes fanboy/girl and would support them to death, but there comes a point where you might have to sit back and take a look at the reality. That reality would be in front of you if you take a V3 and a Guhong, pull the pieces out and use your eyeballs. Thanks.

 

[ThomasJE]

From a production engineer's point of view, assuming they are riveted or are screws set to a set distance, easy of assembly = faster production time = higher hourly yield = more money. If those are rivets then they could assembly cores extremely quickly.

So because they have to bother with assembling the cube, they make it worse? They should just make it cost more. And anyway, do they think it will be the fastest selling cube ever? After all this, I seriously doubt it. It won't. V-Cubes are only good after hours of modding. This makes them as bad as Seven Towns. I'll be getting Shengshou 5x5's and 6x6's.

 

[amostay2004]

From all the comments it seems like V-Cubes failed even more than I expected them to with the V3. Definitely staying away from this one.

 

[andyfreeman]

So because they have to bother with assembling the cube, they make it worse? .

Given the really other bad quality issues like the inserts in the corners not fitting very well?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L9TzIQWFvk

Then it appears so.

You'll be surprised what companies do and think people will put up with and do to save time and ultimately money.

Having said that, looking at Jono's mod vid he has a cube with 6 or 7 out of the 12 possible torps, so it looks like it could just be poor QC.

 

[Dene]

I'm not talking about legal issues here. I'm talking about what is done. Are you telling me that if Dayan didn't make any kind of cube that V Cubes would have revised their original design and it STILL would have ended up looking exactly like a guhong, torpedo's and all? I seriously doubt it. I'm sure they would have gone with their original design JUST like all the other cubes have been. Dayan copied V Cubes, I NEVER said they didn't, but you have to admit, they also copied the Guhong. It doesn't matter if English is not their first language. I've talked to Verdes personally about this matter and trust me, he speaks English just fine! lol. Do you really think that a cube company of this magnitude would not watch some YouTube video's and would not listen to what other people say about other cubes. How the hell would they have torpedo's in their cubes without ever hearing about them?

I understand your probably a V Cubes fanboy/girl and would support them to death, but there comes a point where you might have to sit back and take a look at the reality. That reality would be in front of you if you take a V3 and a Guhong, pull the pieces out and use your eyeballs. Thanks.

Perhaps you should use your eyeballs and take a look at a bandaged 5x5, like meep told you to.