LeapFrog intros web-connected Leapster2 and Didj handhelds

Heads-up kiddos! LeapFrog is out to swipe even more of that allowance with a pair of all new web-connected handhelds. Up first is the Leapster2, which now boasts a sleeker form factor and the ability to upload your totally sweet results to the web for mum and dad to ooh and ahh over. For you older tykes, the Didj handheld -- which is hailed as the first completely customizable educational gaming platform -- enables users to "personalize the look and feel of the games, from designing their avatars to choosing background scenery, color schemes and music." Also of note, the Didj features a 3.2-inch 320 x 240 resolution panel, a 393MHz ARM9 processor and 256MB of Flash memory, which should provide plenty of incentive to hack this thing into a second-rate media player when not beefing up that mental muscle. Both units are set to launch this summer for $69.99 and $89.99, respectively, while software titles for each will run $24.99 and $29.99, also respectively.

[Via I4U News]

[aguiluz @ Feb 5th 2008 4:06PM]

Is this another crappy Edutainment system designed to piss kids off when the parents buy this instead of a PSP or a DS?

(I think Ashens should review these.)

www.youtube.com/Ashens

[aguiluz @ Feb 5th 2008 4:13PM]

An educational system? Hmmm... OLPC XO is educational, has a color screen, plays games, and has internet access. Of course *somebody* can abuse this like the OLPC XO. Don't know what I mean?

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/20/reuters-shocked-that-olpc-testers-using-xo-for-xxx/

Oh, Shoot... I'm not going to do that.

[mushrooshi @ Feb 5th 2008 10:54PM]

While technically a game, Brain Age is great too.

I don't see the point of it. Unfortunately, I see kids with these everywhere.

A DS is much better, in my opinion, for these functions. The original DS is rugged enough, and the DS lite has some supposed "kiddie" cases, like the Nerf one, that would definatly work. Also, just pop in Brain Age or Big Brain Academy, and such.

Violence shouldn't hurt kids who are old enough to play with a touch screen and some oversized buttons, and its not like Junior is gonna smuggle games or anything.

Seriously, no one is going to buy the "Didj". Whether it is "D-J" or "Digi", it isn't going to sell. Way too underpowered, Way too cheap looking, and educational videogames suck once past 5th grade. Elementary school educational games are good, but past that point, they either make it way to easy or too hard. I breezed through 5th grade games when I was in preschool.

Why get specialized crapconsoles that only play crap games when you can get a good handheld that has has the good games.

DS + BrainAge > Didj with CoolManEdu

[James @ Feb 9th 2008 9:52PM]

Dunno about "underpowered", but when I heard "393MHz ARM9" and built in memory, and saw a stylus in the pic, a little light in my head went off saying "HACK ME!"

I mean, for 90 bucks, try to get a PDA with those specs -- and frankly, good luck. Maybe nothing will come of it, but I'd like to at least see somebody try.

[aguiluz @ Feb 5th 2008 4:17PM]

How's that related? I did not say anything about apple or ipod?

[Kurtis Welch @ Feb 5th 2008 4:45PM]

yep

[mlivebc @ Feb 5th 2008 4:58PM]

pretty cool

[-Tj- @ Feb 5th 2008 5:41PM]

LeapFrog has the word "frog" in it, which is related to the Frog Prince, which is a fairy tale, and it just so happens that Snow White is also a fairy tale, which has an evil queen in it who used a poison apple, which has the word "apple" in it, which is also the name of the company who makes the iPod. So yeah, makes perfect sense that this is related to the iPod. O_o

On another note, this thing seems pretty damned impressively-powered for the price. If I were a kid, I'd hope my parents would buy me one.

[Andy @ Feb 5th 2008 8:09PM]

More awesome stuff to give your kids so you don't have to pay attention to them or teach 'em anything.

[mushrooshi @ Feb 5th 2008 10:39PM]

"Up first is the Leapster2, which now boasts a sleeker form factor and the ability to upload your totally sweet results to the web for mum and dad to ooh and ahh over."

Congratulations to your son "ilikeweed".

Score: 2/15

-----------

Um... Brain Age? Big Brain Academy?

Screw this load of piss.

-----------

http://www.google.com

I don't want to post my blog, it will piss pplz off.

[mushrooshi @ Feb 5th 2008 10:55PM]

!!!

Forgot to add this point:

My Ti84 Plus Silver Edition is MUCH MUCH better, and it has games, too. And I can PROGRAM my apps.

And the Didj is still fugly.

[KC @ Feb 6th 2008 1:05AM]

I don't understand why companies like LeapFrog continue to make their own hardware when they can easily put that effort into writing educational games for the DS Lite or PSP.

[Robert Barbieri @ Feb 6th 2008 1:51AM]

They don't look to bad but for the price and the specs I would buy one for some sweet sweet hacking. $80? Way cheaper then a DSLite or PSP, even refurbs.

Looks good for hackerydackerydoo...

[Eric J. @ Feb 6th 2008 11:26AM]

My son and daughter each have a Leapster, and they love it. No, I don't want to buy them DSs yet. The Leapster is rugged and chunky and fits my kids' level of manual dexterity better than a DS would. And it's a lot less likely to get lost or stolen.

All of the games for the Leapster are educational, and genuinely so. My kids get to practice letter recognition, writing, simple arithmetic, and logic games. They avoid reflex-based challenges, so the kids have time to think about their answer. The games generally give you a number of chances to complete a challenge, often an infinite number, which helps prevent the kids from getting frustrated.

And while I suppose they could make similar games for the DS, they'd tend to get lost in the crowd, and have too much competition from the rest of the game industry.

[James @ Feb 9th 2008 9:56PM]

I do wonder where the Math Blaster or Oregon Trail games are for DS/PSP. Even GBA doesn't have that much edutainment software, IIRC -- it's all either big-kid (or grownup) games, or Barbie/Lego/Bratz/whatever. Brain Age is beyond a 4-year-old, so I guess Leapster saw a gap in the market and jumped right in there. Good for them, I say.