Today, I held in my hands one of the very first Fisher-Price iXL Learning Systems (pronounced “I excel”), a new touch screen edu-game platform for preschoolers coming this June for $80. Can it dethrone the Leapster, which is rumored for major redesign? Let the 2010 tech-toy battles begin.
The size of a paperback book, the iXL opens like a clamshell, exposing a clear 240 by 320 pixel color touch screen that is slightly larger than one of screens found on a typical Nintendo DS. The added heft is a result of the four AA batteries, which provide about 8 hours of play time. The tethered stylus slips into a storage bay, and the single recessed power button is easy to find. There’s also a headphone jack, USB plug, volume controls, a speaker and an SD-card expansion slot. The batteries are preserved because the optical sensor tells the device to sleep if the lid is closed. Pink, blue and silver color options are available, reminding parents that this is a toy, after all.

Children can login to six accounts, plus six onboard activities include a music player, a photo editor, and a Story Book reader that asks you to flip the device on it’s side, book fashion, to click through a story. Most activities reinforce numbers, sequencing and counting; there were no surprises in the demo I observed.  Additional activity pack software titles feature mainstream Nick and Disney characters, and can be purchased at retail for $25 each, stored on a Mac/Windows CD-ROM. To get the titles on your child’s iXL, you need a host computer to load the software into the content manager, and then transfer it to your iXL’s onboard 256 MB of memory via a USB cable. That’s enough space for three extra titles, but the space can be increased with an SD card, sold separately. So, if you’re willing to put up with a few extra steps, you can load up your child’s iXL with their own photo library, song collection and (Fisher-Price hopes) many additional games. Stay tuned. Teaches: creativity, early learning. Fisher-Price, Inc.. www.fisher-price.com, $80. Best for ages 3-7.

Leave a Reply

Your comment will appear after moderation.