LeapFrog Didj Custom Learning Gaming System | 
| Brand: LeapFrog
Category: Toy
List Price: $89.99
Buy New: $69.99
You Save: $20.00 (22%)
New (24) Collectible (1) from $69.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 780
Batteries Included: No
Age: 6 - 10 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 2.5 x 10.5 x 13
MPN: 30672
Model: 30672
UPC: 708431306721
EAN: 0708431306721
ASIN: B00134PLN8
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | 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. | | • | Appropriate for ages 6 years to 10 years. |
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| Editorial Reviews:
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 of your favorite characters and themes. Software sold separately. Requires 4 "AA" batteries, not included.
Amazon.com Review
With games that reinforce skills like math and spelling, the LeapFrog DIDJ is a custom gaming system that parents won't mind seeing their children spending their afternoons with. Using your computer and the LEAPFROG Connect application, games can be customized to provide all kinds of learning opportunities for all kids between the ages of six to ten. 
View larger. |  |  | What We Think
Fun Factor: 
Durability:
(what this means)
The Good: Entertaining, interactive system with educational games.
The Bad: The computer interface takes a little getting used to.
In a Nutshell: Customizable digital characters and worlds make learning fun. | At a Glance
Ages: 6 to 10
Requires: Four AA batteries and a computer with an Internet connection for set up.
|  | | Making the DIDJ Your Own
Before kids start creating, an adult will want to install four AA batteries (not included) in the DIDJ and set up the system. A convenient product guide pamphlet walks you through the necessary set-up tasks. This process involves installing the LEAPFROG Connect application onto your computer and transferring the included game, JetPack Heroes, onto the handheld DIDJ with a USB cable (included). Before you close the software down, kids will want to create their own custom avatars using the Didjerator. With a huge color palette to utilize, and the ability to make your avatar a robot with vampire fangs or dress it in a tuxedo with sneakers, it may take awhile to get each character perfect. Once this is done, the avatars can be downloaded to the handset and are available to play in any game that uses Didji characters. Fun, Customizable Way to Learn
The included game, JetPack Heroes, stars your favorite character in a fight against the villain Gooracha. Players use math skills to free the energy buddies they have captured and provide light and life for the entire planet. Quick fingers control the hero's jet pack and gun that is used to navigate the erratic landscape and stop enemy goons in between answering addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. Additional games that develop skills like vocabulary and spelling are available. One enticing feature of the interactive software is that points that are earned while playing, called Bitz, can be uploaded to your computer and then traded in for micromods, game updates such as new spaceships, backgrounds, or music. Interactive Education
Overall, we had a great time creating our own characters and immersing ourselves in DIDJ worlds. The computer interface was clearly designed with young computer users in mind, which makes it easy to navigate. Several point and click menus put a wide variety of tools at your fingertips. One cool interactive feature is the learning path. After game information is uploaded from the handset, parents can follow a link in the connect software to see their children's progress, making it easy to track success. Kids are sure to enjoy studying for tests when they can set the DIDJ to use their own math facts and spelling words, making this unique system a great investment. What's in the Box
Didj, USB cable, and CD with LEAPFROG connect computer application, which includes one game.
PC Requirements:
Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system
Pentium III 500 MHz processor
Monitor resolution of at least 1024 X 768
Available USB port
256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
300 MB free disk space
Internet connection
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 or higher
CD reader
Mac Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.4+
PPC G4 or any Intel-based Apple computer
Monitor resolution of at least 1024 X 768
Available USB port
256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
300 MB free disk space
Internet connection
Safari application
CD reader
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Good...in theory October 13, 2008
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.
I like it but, hopefully I will love it. September 30, 2008
We have this product about 2 weeks! I love what the demo says it will do. But so far the website has failed to be complete on having everything up and running like they said. I think they should of got that complete before they started marketing the product.
I like that it has nice graphics, batterylife is decent, but we own one extra game so far the Didji racing for spelling words. (this is the whole reason I bought this system, was to help with my childs weekly spelling test) after purchasing you can only use words the Leapfrog has available...so your childs words are not on the master list, you can't enter them.
Also after uploading some of the speeling words for 2 weeks, I've noticed that the words they are quizzed on are not the words I've chosen...so that made me irratated, after spending about 3 minutes searching for matching spelling words.
Also right now they don't have the extra features like earning more points to change backgrounds and sounds working yet.
My overall review is I like it...but I feel like the demo made it sound like it was to good to be true and feel like it is.
Think we will love it!! September 28, 2008
Just got this for my son's 6th birthday. Did a lot of research with this and other handhelds. I felt we couldn't go wrong with Leapfrog. He has never had video games before and we wanted an educational one. I was really leaning towards the Leapster but he is 6 so I wanted to get something he could grow with. This will definitely keep him busy for a few years till he can pass it on and get something new. So far he loves, it. He's in kindergarten so we are learning how to use it together and I have to help him with the questions but with a little explanation he can answer them. I would have liked it to a little more straight out of the box ready, you have to do some downloading and I am not an overly techo person, but it is fairly easy. I am sure as we use it more we will get into all the other stuff it has to offer, personalizing it and so on. Overall for the price, it is fair. The graphics are impressive and screen is appealing. I would recommend the hard case for it. I also purchased rechargable batteries but my eventually go with the charger. I really hope the games expand and they consider adding some geography and so on. Actually the game that comes with it is pretty fun!!
Better than a gameboy - barely September 15, 2008
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
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.
 Awesome New Gaming System!!! September 12, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am thrilled with the newest gaming system by Leapfrog. This has finally competed and won over my child's game boy! I was recently surprised when my daughter chose her Didj as her game of choice on our recent camping trip -- I was so excited! At last.. A hand held game that keeps her attention and teaches her weekly spelling words at the same time. Since she has opened the box, she has begun sharing with her friends, who love it as much as she does. It was extremely easy to get set up online and load the spelling words and characters. I was surprised, because I am not that tech savvy. Within 10 minutes, we were off and playing. The online features make the experience engaging for both child and parent. I particularly find the status reports helpful and functional. It is nice to get feedback on your child's progress and know where they are struggling. I truly love this product.. Every grade-schooler should have one. Thank you Leapfrog!
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