News Blog

LeapFrog's upcoming Didj gaming system.

(Credit: LeapFrog)

I stopped by a LeapFrog event today to at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York. I was pleasantly surprised when the company representatives trotted out a new handheld learning/gaming system, the Didj ($89.99), which is due to arrive this summer. LeapFrog doesn't exactly bill the Didj as a Nintendo DS competitor, but the the new device is geared toward 6- to 10-year-olds, an age bracket where the DS currently rules.

LeapFrog also had its upcoming Leapster 2 ($69.99) at the event, which is targeted at even younger children. The idea behind the Didj is to up the gaming and graphics ante while continuing to integrate the learning stuff that the company's known for. Those educational elements are starting to show up in a handful of DS games, but LeapFrog's giving the whole educational-gaming slant a harder spin to appeal to parents who would prefer to have their grade-schoolers graduate to something other than the DS.

While the Didj doesn't have a Wi-Fi connection like the DS, there's a whole online angle that LeapFrog's working with its LeapFrog Connect Application. The application lets children customize game content (the device connects via USB to both PCs and Macs).

According to LeapFrog's news release, "Players first select and personalize an avatar. Then they design the game, choosing background scenery, color schemes or music. Most important, parents and kids can then customize content, connecting gameplay with schoolwork. Multiplication hard to master? Kids can choose to be quizzed on the 6s, 7s and 8s tables. Spelling a stumbling block? Kids can create a custom spelling list from the 10,000-word database and practice for next week's test."

The Leapster 2 will be available this July as well.

(Credit: LeapFrog)

I saw an early build of the game that ships with Didj and the graphics are indeed--excuse the pun--a nice leap forward for LeapFrog. The system is scheduled to be released in July with an MSRP of $90 and a total of 10 games will be available during the first year, including Star Wars and Indiana Jones branded titles.

Here's a rundown of the Didj's key specs:

• Processor: 393 MHz Arm 9
• Display: 320x240 resolution
• One 24-bit 2D layer (no hardware acceleration)
• One 16-bit 3D layer
• One YUV video layer (no hardware acceleration)
• Graphics: API OpenGL ES 1.1--A reduced instruction set version of OpenGL for embedded systems
• Main RAM: 32 MB DDRI 131 MHz
• NAND Flash: 256MB for data storage/download content
• Media Cartridge: 64MB
• System Software: Brio--Firmware is built on an abstraction layer called Brio to make OS and hardware transparent to developers. This means all software must be ported to Brio to run on this device.
• Screen LCD: 3.2 inches, 16.7-Million Color TFT

No parent left behind: The Tag Reading System

(Credit: LeapFrog)

Busy and absentee parents, meet your new best friend. As part of Demo 08, the emerging tech conference which takes place in Palm Desert Januaury 28 to 30, LeapFrog is unveiling a new handheld learn-to-read technology that interacts directly with real books. Available this summer for $50, the Tag Reading System uses a pen-based reader (pictured) to provide audio for the stories, "as well as the fun-filled games and activities spread throughout the pages."

The press release describes the product this way:

"The Tag handheld works with Tag-enabled books to create an independent and interactive reading experience for children. By simply touching the highly responsive Tag reader anywhere on any page of a Tag book, children can bring their favorite stories to life. The pocket-sized Tag platform 'reads' by using a small, sophisticated infrared camera that works as an imaging system to recognize letters, words and symbols printed on the page. Using the PC- and Mac-compatible LeapFrog Connect Application, parents can download audio for each book in the Tag library, then manage content the way they manage MP3 or digital camera files. With 16 MB of onboard flash memory, the Tag reader can hold up to five books at a time."

Leapfrog says the Tag Reading System will launch with an 18-volume library of children's classic books, activity books and activity cards from such publishers HarperCollins, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic and others to "showcase beloved characters such as Fancy Nancy, Walter the Farting Dog, Olivia and Miss Spider." (I'd say something snarky about the audio coming to life in Walter the Farting Dog, but it's too early in the week to stoop to such juvenile levels).

As I said, the electronic component of the system will retail for $50, while Tag Books and Activity Boards will carry an MSRP of $13.99 each. The system is geared toward kids aged 4 to 8 and parents who feel guilty for not reading to their kids enough (that would be me).

LeapFrog's FLY Fusion comes with 64MB of built-in memory and is expandable to 128MB.

(Credit: LeapFrog)

LeapFrog's original FLY pentop computer garnered some attention when it was announced in late 2005, but truth be told, we kind of forgot about it after it came out. Well, the company has a new FLY--the FLY Fusion ($80)--and, as you might expect from a second-generation product, it's sleeker and has more features.

While the product isn't due to ship until early August, it can already be pre-ordered at Amazon. Here are the highlights, according to the site:

• With the FLY Fusion Pentop Computer, everything you write on FLY Paper is automatically scanned and digitized.
• With the tap of your FLY Fusion pentop computer, you can interact with your notes, get instant feedback and step-by-step help, even play MP3s and games, all on paper!
• FLY Fusion Pentop Computer includes: rechargeable battery, memory expansion slot, FLY Fusion installation CD, FLY Notebook, FLY World Application, 13 FLY Fusion Games, and USB Cable.
• Recommended age range fifth to ninth grades.

I saw a quick demo today of the Fusion (not to be confused with the Gillette Fusion razor) and was impressed enough to request a review sample (it should arrive soon). Truth is, I wasn't much a note-taker in school, and this thing made me wish I could go back and do it all over again. With this kind of technology at my disposal, I would have been a note-taking machine. Or at least I could have saved some of my better doodles.

LeapFrog's My First Computer comes with a wireless keyboard.

(Credit: LeapFrog)

LeapFrog's new ClickStart My First Computer may not run Windows, Linux or the Mac OS, but it's designed to introduce kids aged 3-6 to the whole concept of computing without messing with daddy or mommy's expensive PC. The $60 system features a "child-friendly" wireless keyboard with nice big buttons, a console and a mouse that converts for right- or left-handed play. The console comes with a few built in games and activities, and you can buy additional software cartridges ($19.99) that plug into the top of the console.

Not surprisingly, there's a friendly green puppy named Scout to guide kids through navigation, mousing, counting, ABCs, phonic skills, simple math, shapes, and colors. Tots can even click on an in-box to get a greeting-card style e-mail, complete with sound for nonreaders.

I saw the whole thing in action today, and I'm ready to buy my 3-year-old one. With the QWERTY keyboard training under her belt, I figure she'll be able to step up to the big PC and start blogging by age 5. In fact, word is LeapFrog's developing a game called Ratatouille: Anyone Can Blog. In it, kids learn how to link to baseless rumors or better yet, just make ridiculous stuff up so other people can link to it and send traffic through the roof. A Photoshop tutorial for teaching the basics of doctoring images is included.

OK, I'm kidding about the last part, but a Ratatouille game really is in the works--and a Finding Nemo and Dora title are available this month along with the system.