Last week brought an exclusive early preview of the Jump Up and Join In app, at a meeting with Carrie and David Grant at the Egmont offices in London. The official launch followed yesterday, and the app is now available from the Apple Store as Jump Up and Join In – Lion’s Speedy Sauce, priced at £2.49 for iPad and iPhone owners. It is aimed at children aged 4 to 8.
One of the visitors spoke about her experience. By her own account she is a techno dinosaur: the iPhone had arrived only a couple of weeks earlier, and an old Blackberry had stayed the favourite gadget until blogging showed just how slow it really was. Her son, she said, had so far been kept well away from computers, so this was the very first app download ever. The early access was meant to leave plenty of time to try everything out, but, as so often happens with the best of plans, things did not go smoothly. With no iPad at home, the download went onto the iPhone late on Friday evening. The file turned out to be too big for the phone, which left home Wi-Fi as the only option. The Wi-Fi, though, ran through a business, and the key to unlock the network stayed a mystery, with no help on hand until Monday. On the bright side, she added, the boy still knew nothing about the new toy.
In the end the home Wi-Fi connection came together yesterday afternoon, and that part was sorted. Her son had already had a long day, so the first look at #juji was held over until this morning.
She recalled real curiosity about how the news would land – that #juji could be played on the iPhone. For the boy this was a first. The trip to London came back to him straight away, along with the memory of Lion playing the bongos. A good start.
At the heart of the app is the first book and disc in the #juji series, Lion’s Speedy Sauce: the story of Lion, who needs a speedy curry sauce to liven up both himself and his rhythms.
Once it starts, the story can be listened to and watched, and her son was absorbed even on the small iPhone screen. At the end there is a chance to try playing the bongos, either in free mode (his favourite) or by repeating a sequence of beats and earning stars for each level cleared. Choosing levels was a little tricky given the size of the elements on the iPhone screen, though a beginner’s lack of practice played its part too.
Next come the musical steps. That day, she said, the boy again went for free mode, up and down the musical scale, and kept at it for a long while without a single prompt.
A photo of the child’s own face can be added to the character. That morning the camera felt off-putting to him, so a photo from the iPhone’s memory did the job: the face is fitted into a frame (something that would have been tricky for him to manage alone, given the size of the iPhone screen), and then different hairstyles and hats, a body and legs are added. On the iPhone screen this came slightly harder than on the iPad shown at the preview, but it was also a very first attempt, so the result was far from bad.
Players can also sing along with Carrie and David, record themselves, and then watch a clip of their character dancing to the song, with a choice of background behind it. None of that was tried that morning, and the boy had a great time anyway.
The recorded masterpiece can be posted on the JUJI series Facebook page, where it might even catch the eye of Carrie and David themselves.
As for the impressions, she explained that for her son this was a first taste of apps in general, and of her own prized iPhone. The interest was there, and the app held his attention across every task, which is no small feat when there is neither a tractor nor an excavator in sight. He liked it.
There was nothing to compare it with yet, she said, since this was a first experience of its kind for her as well. The plot is a welcome touch: a child learns about music and singing while having fun. No shooting and nothing being blown up. An educational foundation sits behind the app, and that is especially nice to see.
Would #juji be back in action? Yes. And she was looking forward to more apps based on the rest of the books in the series.