As Philip said, there is indeed a 9 tile cardboard version, the mini-tangle. I think these were giveaways, promotional items.
I have one (I can't find it as it is hidden away somewhere in storage), and it is simply a perforated cardboard sheet. You would have to tear out the tiles to play with it.
See also:
http://www.maar10.net/puzzles/collection-puzzles/sequential-movement/rubik/rubiks-puzzles.html