I bought the iXL for my son for his third birthday, and with some trepidation, I might add. I was concerned that he might be too young to use it without frustration. Boy was I wrong. He took to it like a duck to water, quickly understanding the menus and games with very little prompting. He has two titles for it besides the built-in title, Handy Manny and Toy Story 3, and both are a big hit. The games are appropriate to his dexterity level and don't frustrate him, and they also don't penalize wrong answers, which could have been an annoyance. Instead, a wrong answer or two causes the character (Monkey Narrator, or Handy Manny, or Woody, for example, depending on the title) to remind my son what his goal is.
The format of the titles is both good and bad. On the good side, there are no cartridges to lug around, keep track of, not lose, and not break. On the bad side, the iXL will only hold a couple of extra titles in its built-in memory. After that, you have to buy an SD card to expand the memory. No big deal, really. But, this system means you have to have a PC or Mac available to load the titles on, and you have to not lose the USB cable that comes with the iXL, lest you not be able to load new content.
Speaking of loading content, we put a bunch of photos and music on the device so that my son can listen to familiar tunes and draw mustaches on Mommy and Daddy. This is a pretty nice feature, and really makes it HIS iXL.
Finally, I was concerned about whether the iXL would still be interesting when he's 5, 6, or 7. As it happens, a friend brought over his kids, 5 and 7, to play one day, and they both leapt on the iXL. After a couple hours of play, I'm no longer worried. Kids from 3 to 7 will like this, although the older ones may be ready for the next device up, like a Nintendo DS, iPod Touch, or similar device.
Bottom line, I like the iXL's focus on younger kids than the leapfrog devices, and every activity is a learning activity. It's not primarily a game player. It's more of an e-reader that also has some games and activities like leapfrog.