I ordered this cube, and I think I may have been the first one to receive it -- mine was opened when I got it, which generally indicates it's the one DX used for photos.

The cube is available here at $3.91 including shipping.

For a keychain-size cube (30 mm), it's a heavy and well-turning puzzle. As you can see, the cubies (especially the edge cubies) are fairly full, which might well make it a good candidate for mods. The centers have springs, screws, and centercaps, making them eminently adjustable.

(I will need to either make smaller pictures or reduce the size, but I'm about at the end of my rope for today. Just wanted to share it before tomorrow.)

Nice! Could it be we finally have a non-junk keychain other than the Rubik's? I will have to order a few...

Dave

A screw spring structured keychain cube? I'm impressed.

Ooh, they come in black too!

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.20017

yes, apart from the black one they also come in different stickers as well, like the maze and the four color stickers (whoops, don't know what its called). $3.91USD is resonable, very close to the price we get in Hong Kong

Especially with free international shipping!

Yay, that's good news. Mine should arrive today or tomorrow and I was planning to use it as the core of a domino. Judging from your description it will be perfect

OT, Jasper, I've recently receieved another black super square-1 and this was the second one (out of three I ordered) that has arrived without the stickers.

I've seen people playing around with these on youtube and always wondered where they came from. Thanks for the heads up

Are you sure those are the same cube? DX also has those sticker variations but they're on normal-size cubes.

Great. Thanks for the recommendation.

yes i am sure.
i've seen them before at a local shop in Hong Kong.

I've picked these up in the normal sized cubes for the shephards cube, with the ultimate design, and with a few other designs on the stickers. I can post pictures this evening if you want. They have been available here for about a month or so.

oh no... i must be wrong then...
what happened to my short term memory

Not wrong, you just don't buy as many "toys" as I do. And I haven't told you all of the places I buy my puzzles from either

Oh kats, you have to tell me where you get your puzzles from
i did went to shum shui po after the fair that day and managed to get
the large and small size kaos, and the price just makes me

HOLY COW!! $20.49 EMS express! Gotta love that other free option. Im definatly gonna pick up one of these! Thanks for sharing.

THis is great! If these are really as good as everyone is saying they are, then they would be perfect for modding! First, they're less than half the price of rubiks brand cubes, and they come in both colors. I'm gonna have to get a few of these.

Just some more observations today. I've had the cube in my pocket for a couple of days, and done probably 3 or 4 dozen solves on it (hey, I'm slow..). The stickers appear to be paper with laminate type, not unlike Eastsheen or Rubiks brand, they seem to respond better than the cheap laminate stickers on my other cheap keychain cubes. Most of my other keychain cubes, incidentally, are these ones from DX. Those are also spring/screw, but they don't have a cap on the centers -- the sticker doubles as it. Which means center stickers get ugly holes after a while, and adjustments mean ruining those stickers.

One ugly feature of the Maru Mini cube I've had happen to me twice now is an entire face coming off, after the screw loosened from the core. The screw may be too short or the core made of the wrong material (it's transparent red on mine). I may try hybridising a core/screw/spring set from those cheap cubes with the cubies & centers from the Maru Mini sometime soon. They appear to be suitably sized for it, and the cheap cubes have slightly longer screw and springs with slightly more twists, as well as a black plastic core that looks more suitable for holding threads.

Cosmetically, there's a mold line running along one side of each edge cubie on the Maru Mini near the adjoining center which is not very smooth and which tends to collect dirt like a fingernail.

All this of course based on my samples, yours may vary, etc.

Yes, I think your probably right about the screws.
A friend of mine who sell these cubes told me the same thing as well. He said although it uses a core, screw and spring mech for the mini cube which makes it turn really well... however, becos of the screw being too short, it makes the cube pop very easily.
I am not too sure about the other problems because I don't want to take my mini maru cubes out from the package so I can't test it out.

Have you tried sanding the ends of the springs flat? That helps a lot with the same problem on Meffert's megaminx.

Come to think of it, these springs are wound the wrong way round. They 'stick' in the anticlockwise direction.

I'm currently working on my hybrid, with cheap-cube core & screws with the Maru Mini springs & everything else, with sanded springs.