What is great about this item:
It has an average rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars!
- First-ever gaming handheld that connects to the computer so kids can customize both gaming and learning
- Totally customized gaming: Kids customize their characters, backgrounds, animation, music and more
- Truly customized learning: sync the games to skills your child is studying in school
- Library of games featuring favorite characters from SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Wars and Indiana Jones
- Included and additional games teach skills in a range of subjects, such as language arts, spelling, math and math facts
Product Description
Introducing Didj, the all-new gaming system featuring totally thrilling gaming and truly customized learning. It’s the first-ever gaming handheld that lets you customize both learning and gaming. Just connect it to your computer to play action-packed games and sharpen your skills as you study what you need for school. Earn points as you play; then trade them for cool downloads to make each game your own. Expand your learning experience with a software library full o… More >>
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LeapFrog® Didj Custom Learning Gaming System
What is great about this item:
It has an average rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars!
First-ever gaming handheld that connects to the computer so k…
5 replies on “LeapFrog® Didj Custom Learning Gaming System”
I was happy to discover my 8YO son enjoyed his Didj as much as his gameboy. However, I would like to see more “education” in the educational games. The games are similiar to gameboy, nintendo, etc games, but there is a little bit of educational material stuffed in there. It is in no way comparable to the Leapster (other reviewers – if my son was only 5 – he would still be on the leapster as it is a much better toy). However, since he had mastered all of the games leapster had to offer, we moved on.
Where the leapster is constant education, the didj is 95% games and 5% education (if you call it that). The leapster teaches, the didj just tests your knowledge. The games play for several minutes and then to get to the next level, the child has to “break a code” (or something similiar) by correctly answering 3 multiple choice questions. If the child guesses correctly then he is awarded points. Not much education.
One nice thing about didj is that children earn points that they can redeem online for games or mods for their didj. Yes, there is shooting in some of the games, and some are violent, but I have not seen any blood yet. I think leapfrog could’ve done better.
If your child is younger than 8 or 9, give them a leapster and hope leapfrog decides to make some educational games for Didj before they outgrow the leapster games. Didj is more like a gameboy than a learning tool.
Syncing: I was unable to sync with my Vista laptop even after downloading their updated software, but syncing with an older XP laptop worked fine. I am hoping to get in touch with Leapfrog tech support but they are only open during the hours I work.
Battery Life: I purchased the recharger with the Didj and I noticed the Didj has to be recharged more often than the Leapster. I would hate to put batteries in this thing.
Hardware: The unit is sturdy, just right for 6-10 YO hands. The graphics are great, superior to many small game systems I’ve seen and much better than the leapster, but it is not a touch screen. My son seems happy with the given controls.
If this was sold as a toy, I would rate it higher because it is fun. As an “educational toy”, this is a big disappointment.
3 stars
I purchased this as a replacement for the pink Leapster my daughter has been using for the last 3 or so years.
The didj is roughly the size of a closed Nintendo DS (a tad bulkier) and the screen is a considerable improvement over the Leapster. The screen is slightly smaller than the Leapster screen, but with higher resolution and better colors and contrast. I do worry a tad about the screen getting scratched up – the Leapster used a stylus and its screen could take a beating, but this one has a glossy screen that will show fingerprints and scratches easier.
One thing to note for those of us who use Apple computers: The didj supports Macs (and Windows too) right out of the box.
So, after unpacking it and loading the batteries, it’s ready to connect to the computer – almost. First you need to create a profile on the handheld. Run the included CDROM and the didj software and one free game (Jetpack Heroes) are downloaded to the computer. My unit also required a firmware update. This took about 10-15 minutes altogether to complete.
One of the big features is being able to track your child’s progress and creating your own content by periodically syncing the didj with the computer, but I cannot review this now since this feature will not be available until August.
Gameplay looks a lot like flash-based games and remind one of the Leapster’s offerings – although with much, much, better graphics. Your child can also create a Mii-like character to send to the games. Part of the reward system is earning credits (Bitz) – by answering questions correctly – these are used to unlock features and add-ons for the games via the LeapFrogConnect application.
One word of warning: When the didj is hooked up to a computer, it will (on a Mac at least) show up as a removable drive. On that drive are various files stored on the didj. You will mess up the system if you mess with these files. Leapfrog needs to fix this issue in a future update.
In a nutshell – this is no Nintendo DS. It is cutting-edge and a considerable improvement over the Leapster. All this thing needs now is a bigger library of titles.
EDIT:
After letting the kid play with it for a while, here are some more insights:
1. The battery life is quite good, though not quite as long as the Leapster. I still plan on getting the rechargeable battery pack.
2. The screen does scratch. Sometime after getting the didj, my daughter picked up a Nintendo DS stylus to see if it would work on the screen. Now there are a couple of barely-noticeable small hairline scratches on the screen.
3. The didj one day said it needed to connect to the computer to fix something. What it turned out to be was the Foster’s game cartridge messed up its savegame data on the didj. Deleting that game’s data fixed the problem.
4. We still like the system, though aside from seeing the system for sale in one retail store, we still have yet to see anyplace selling cartridges. Online is the best bet for getting cartridges now.
5 stars
This is a good toy in theory. As a homeschooling mom, I was looking forward to an educational game that can track my children’s learning. Unfortunately, ever since I purchased it, I have had to deal with bugs from the Leapfrog system. From something as simple as the fact that the program needed, Leapfrog Connect, would not install on my brand new computer. All I kept getting was that my computer did not meet system requirements. Leapfrog was no help. I finally discovered it was because my screen resolution was wrong according to Leapfrog Connect. Really. It runs just fine on my normal resolution but I had to go back and reset it to install. Ridiculous.
Second, the Leapfrog site kept bouncing back my registration and when it finally accepted it, it bounced back my login.
When I finally got on, I linked everything. It was great. Then the next time I logged on, everything was gone. So I created another “footprint”. The third time I logged on, it was all back…now I have duplicate footprints and no way to delete them. Today I logged on and the footprints are there, but the links to the games are gone.
Leapfrog answers my queries, normally there’s no real solution though. I am just frustrated with all of these bugs for a children’s product. I could put together an Ikea bedroom set faster than it has taken to deal with all these issues. Oh, and my son has earned learning points…and Leapfrog has yet to set up the reward system as advertised.
This has a potential to be a great product for keeping tabs on your child’s learning while s/he has fun. It’s the waiting for them to get the bugs fixed (which should have been done before the system went on the market) that brings this system down from great to ok. I feel like I have the children’s version of Windows Vista in my hands.
3 stars
The Didj is a really fun little gaming system. I intended to give this as a gift and wanted to try it out first to make sure it was suitable. I will now be keeping the one I bought and getting a second one for the gift… and I’m an adult! Though maybe I am nostalgic for the edutainment games I grew up playing on an old Apple IIe.
As another reviewer said, the games look a whole lot like flash-based games for PC. The graphics really are pretty good, colors are bright, and the system is comfortable to hold. The two games I tried, Jetpack Heroes and Super Chicks, were both very fun. The education content did feel a bit tacked on, however. For example, Jetpack heroes plays like a regular side-scrolling game you might find on the Nintendo DS but occasionally the player must solve some math problems to progress. These are just the first games for the system and I can only see them getting better. One reviewer expressed some concern about the shooting aspect of Jetpack Heroes. I will say that the game is extremely cartoony and the player only shoots cartoon aliens with a ‘space blaster’ on occasion while collecting items, avoiding hazards, and doing math problems. The game really doesn’t seem any more violent than Mario throwing fireballs at koopas. I also applaud Leapfrog for providing a game with the system!
One of my favorite aspects of the Didj is the ability to earn points while playing games that can be spent online to add content to the games and the Didj. Sadly, Leapfrog doesn’t really have this system working yet. They are offering some free add-ons while we wait, however. I’m excited to see what is going to be offered.
The Didj is also highly customizable. In many games the player can create a customized character and insert it into the game. Parents can also customize some of the educational content.
I do have a couple complaints about the Didj. The system should have just come with a rechargeable battery like the vast majority of portable electronics on the market today including the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. As it is, you have to buy an expensive adapter. I can appreciate the convenience for long car trips, I suppose, but batteries are just wasteful in this day and age. Also, the batteries are /extremely/ difficult to put in and change out. I made a few accidental scratches on the back of my Didj struggling with them and you will need some kind of tool. I’ll be purchasing the recharge kit very soon and I recommend just buying it with the system though the battery life really is pretty good.
The Didj PC software doesn’t get any praise from me either. It is very slow and likes to freeze. This might be a conflict with Windows Vista, however. When I first connected the Didj it said it was downloading an update. After an hour I disconnected it. There was no progress bar and no indication that the update was complete. The system did update since Jetpack Heroes had been downloaded but the software was just lacking.
Overall, the Didj is a great toy that even adults and parents are going to have fun with. Having fun and polishing your math skills at the same time is never a bad thing. I would have loved it as a kid and am sure the recipient of my gift Didj is going to have a blast. I look forward to trying more games!
4 stars
This is a great concept but poorly executed by Leapfrog. It appears to have not been fully tested and rushed to market.
First, the gaming unit worked great. The sync process went smoothly and we read all the directions. I thought we were in the clear and then the issues started creeping up. The first issue was the constant shut down of the Sponge-bob game at random times. Still don’t know what that was all about. Before we could figure that out the unit would no longer sync to the computer. A huge disappointment to me and my son. So started my quest to fix the problem. I typed in the problem via Leapfrog’s support system and started a nearly 5 week journey to find and fix the problem. After nearly daily emails and testing we were told to return the unit for a refund. ARGH. I plan to do so soon and will be getting a DS. I am just too scared to go through this much trouble again.
Other issues:
The recharger was already recalled due to an overheat burn hazard (Sweet, will get my money back but yet another hassle)
The case is very flimsy, doesn’t stay closed well and will not fit the unit with the jelly skin. Huge oversight on Leapfrog’s part. We bought the case for general protection when not in use and for travel, and the jelly for protection when in use. Oh and you cannot play the game unit while in the hard case.
Finally, the skins or customizable static decals that come with the jelly did not stay on long at all and were useless in a few days.
I wish this had worked out better. I was so please at first that I bought one for my daughter which has been sent back.
Hopefully all these issues will get worked out.
Leapfrog really missed the boat with this and has certainly lost my business.
If you buy the unit. Keep your receipt. There is a 90 day guarantee!
1 stars