LeapPad1/2 vs Leapster/LeapsterGS/Leapster Explorer

[Zhoen]

My 5 year old daughter has expressed interest in a LeapPad 2, but I see there are many options out there, so I thought I'd ask the wise folks here if any of y'all have any good reasons to go with one over the other.

It will definitely be a LeapFrog product, because that's what she is familiar with and what she wants, but I look at them and they all look the same to me. I don't quite get why one is better than another, how much memory you need, which apps are worthwhile, etc. (I remember when $10--over two hours at minimum wage) would buy you a crappy handheld pacman knock-off thing as big as a hamburger, and it was considered an AWESOME piece of technology... man I feel old.

Advice?

 

[KristiKat]

Have you gone to the LeapFrog website, it's very informative about each one. My DD6 has had a Leapster Explorer since she was 4 and has loved it. To me it's like a toddler/early childhood Nintendo DS. Unlike the DS it can take a beating since it was made for younger children. She loves playing her games. I think what she has really enjoyed the most is the camera attachment
that we got to go with it, she loves taking pictures and recording videos with it. Don't believe we had the choice of the LeapPad when we were shopping around, don't think they had them yet. From what I've read they are built to be more like an iPad type system. Both the 1 and 2 look great. If I was shopping for one now I'd probably go with the LeapPad2 as it's the newest version and able to do more. My DD is getting upgraded this year to a 3DS XL. She wants to have a game like big brother has. Her Leapster Explorer was a great stepping stone towards the DS and we feel it has prepared her also to take care of the DS properly. I'm sure whichever one you choose your daughter will enjoy it. My DD's really came in handy on those long drives to Disney also.

 

[stefplus3]

I was going to post something similar to this! We were at BJ's yesterday and they had a gift set type thing with the leap pad, a cover, a $20 card for downloads....I forget what else but it was $120. My dd is 7 and wants one....I feel like she's too old for it but I don't know....it says up to age 9. I'd be interested to hear from someone with a child on the older end of the range. She has a leapfrog leapster and she loves it and plays it a lot so I'm sure she'd use it, I'm just not sure if she'll outgrow it too soon.


ps: I haven't posted in a while and WOW is my siggy old!!! All the kids are 2 yrs older now...off to update

 

[sherry7]

I was debating getting a Leap Pad 2 for DD (will be almost 3 at Christmas). The age range for the Leap Pad is 3 to 9 years old.

What concerns me is the high price of the apps, books, and cartridges. They range in price up to around $25. On the flip side, I've downloaded her numerous high quality games, books, etc on my iPad for either free or 99 cents. I feel that by the time I pay $99 for the Leap Pad and then buy a reasonable amount of content, I'm going to have way too much money invested in it. That's not including the cost of replacing batteries, or buying a set or two of rechargeable batteries for it.

In our case, I'm going to continue to allow DD limited and supervised access to my iPad and the things I've downloaded for her. When she is a couple of years older, I will probably buy an iPad Mini for her as a gift.

A Kindle Fire ($159 for the base version) is also an option. For a 5 year old, it could "grow" with her for a few years.