It’s true that your smartphone can do and be pretty much anything now. Not only can you take calls, but it can play games, be your alarm clock, be a Rolodex, a camera, and even a radio. Pretty much anything that you can find an app for. So why would anyone want to buy a separate gadget like the TickTime Cube that is mainly only used as a countdown timer or stopwatch? Well, because the TickTime Cube is probably the neatest little timer you’ll ever see and one that will free up your phone for other uses.
At first glance, the TickTime Cube doesn’t look like anything that interesting. It looks like a little black cube with the numbers printed on four sides. It isn’t until you turn it on that you really start to see how special it really is. This is no ordinary timer. For starters, the TickTime Cube has two digital displays, each serving a different function. The main display is used for the countdown timer while the slightly smaller rear display is used as a stopwatch. Both displays are very bright and easy to read.
Now you might be wondering why there are what seem like random numbers printed on four sides of the cube but there’s a really good reason why. Unlike other timers where you need to press a bunch of buttons to set the timer, all you need to do here is place the amount of time you want, face up on the cube. That means if you want 1-minute, place the #1 face up. If you want 10-minutes, place the #10 face up. If you wand 6-minutes, you would place the #3 face up and then tap the fingerprint icon to add an extra 3-minutes for a total of 6-minutes. It’s pretty ingenious actually and makes setting the timer so fast.
You’ll also notice that there are smaller-sized numbers printed next to the large ones too. If you tap and hold the fingerprint icon, you’ll get the TickTime Cube to count down from that number.
When the timer is counting down and you want to pause, all you have to do is flip the cube so that the digital display is facing upwards. The numbers will start blinking to indicate that it is paused. To start it up again, just place it on its side and it will resume. Lastly, if you want to reset the timer, just flip it to another time or face the display upwards and press the power button.
Speaking of which, there are buttons on the TickTime Cube. They aren’t used often, but they have their uses. There’s a button for power/reset and a button for volume. The other two buttons are to set a custom timer with one being to add minutes and the other for seconds. You’ll probably rarely use these two but it’s nice to have them there just in case.
So is the TickTime Cube the perfect timer? I’d have to say that it’s pretty near close. I love how easy it is to use and how most of the functions are as easy as flipping the cube around to different sides or with just a few taps of them. It’s also pretty small and easy to carry around. Now I know some of you might still be questioning the need for one because again, you can probably do most of this on your phone, but I think it’s refreshing not having to look at your phone all the time and this is great for those who are trying to stay away from their phone. Especially good for students in order to cut away any distractions while they study or do homework.
So overall, the TickTime Cube is a neat gadget worth picking up.
UPDATE: The TickTime Cube is finally available via Kickstarter campaign which you can check out here.
