Leapster or Vsmile

[ms.ojo]

I was just going to post the same question when I did a search first and found this thread!

My ds will be turning 6. We've looked at both in the stores. He's inclined toward VSmile as it has Scooby Doo and he likes that! Unfortunately w/ the Leapster...he'd be more interested in Batman...and that's too old for him. (2-3grade w/ multiplying) I tried to interest him in Sponge Bob for the Leapster, or Nemo....but Scooby Doo has his eye. The only problem....from what I've seen, there isn't a lot of sw for Vsmile for the 6-10yr old age group. Was it just the store we were in??? I'd like to hear more from folks who have experience w/ Vsmile if possible!!! Thank you!!!!

 

[3DisneyKids]

3 votes for Leapster here! My 4.5 and 6 y.o. love theirs and take them on every trip. We got them a year and a half ago when they were 3.5 and 5 and they loved them then, too. My youngest (now 3) wants one for her own, too, so she'll get hers at Christmas.

 

[tkme4ard]

can anyone give ideas on whether or not we should do the L-max leapster or the regular leapster? I was going to place my order at TRU and buy 3 to get a better deal (one to my friend for her little boy)

 

[kimwim8]

can anyone give ideas on whether or not we should do the L-max leapster or the regular leapster? I was going to place my order at TRU and buy 3 to get a better deal (one to my friend for her little boy)

DH and I just saw this L-max at TRU the other night. We didn't really look into the features since we already have a Leapster, but the one thing we noticed was that the L-max games do work on both the L-max & the Leapster...so that adds to the game selections for the Leapster .

Although .... we haven't yet had a LeapPad (we had the My First LeapPad, but not the next one up) ... maybe I should go with this first??? And do Leapster for her birthday???

I personally wouldn't worry about the LeapPad. I see that more as a "read-along" device. Neither one of my kids ever got into that too much. They definitely prefer more of a "game" toy, like the Leapster, Gameboy or Vsmile.

 

[ms.ojo]

We took the plunge and went for the Vsmile pocket for ds. He really wanted scooby doo....and i've heard good things about the alien game it comes with too.

Figure we'll buy dd Leapster for her bday in Nov. Then we have one of each and the kids can swap off w/ each other.

Got a great deal at TRU....bought the VSmile and a sw pkg and was given $20 instant rebate so the sw was free!

Question...how fast do these things eat through batteries??? They didn't have the charger in stock so I'll have to get it later.

 

[KPmom]

I bought a set of 8 rechargeable batteries and the charger at walmart for around $20. That way there are 4 in the v.smile and 4 in the charger. My DD got her v.smile pocket for her b-day in June and we have only had to change the batteries 4 times. I also use the rechargeables for my digi cam. ~Mandy

 

[tkme4ard]

I went yesterday and got the l-max for the girls at TRU with the deal going on. I'm done xmas for my kids yay me!

 

[elan]

I just bought two leapsters. One for my DD on her bday(4) and one for my DS (6) for xmas. What a deal at TRU. Picked up plenty of games and backpacks and carriers too. Glad to hear everyone enjoys them.

 

[Lesley]

I was considering one of these for my 5yo as well....I was leaning towards the V-smile because the games seem to be about $5 less and the selections looked like they'd interest my dd more. But I am wondering....someone mentioned the leapster games being more educational....are they of the "fun learning game" variety or the "a fun game where they don't realize they're learning but they are?" My dd is very adept at picking up on (and rejecting) games that are blatantly educational...especially those that force her to display fluency at a skill repeatedly before doing something else. She is fine with games that she learns from as long as its a really fun game and not just skill practice.

I'd love to hear more opinions and details!

 

[R4racing]

My DD's got the V-Smile for Christmas last year. I think the games are geared more for the younger kids, maybe under 8. If kids are used to stuff like Game Boy I think they will be bored with it easily at a younger age. My now 6yr old likes the V-Smile, but the only other games she plays are her computer games and a couple Disney Playstation games. The V-Smile is still a bit advanced for my 2yr old, who really hasn't shown too much interest in really playing video games. Both girls love/loved the Leap videos and I am sure the older one would love a Leapster. I think a big deciding factor would be ease of playing, until the new V-Smile came out the child was 'tied' to a tv to play games, whereas with Leapster it was portable.

I guess to make a long story short (although it's already long) For older kids I would skip the V-Smile and go to the Leapster.

 

[jenimay]

Last week I bought my boys (7.5 and 6.5) one for Christmas too. It was less than $50 at Walmart, then I heard about the Toys R Us deal and bought 2 games and a carrying case there. And then I bought a new game off of ebay for less than $20 shipped. They do have a GBA, I'm hoping the games will keep them entertained. I got Spongebob, Incredibles, and Spiderman. I wanted Madagascar but they were sold out. Maybe for one of their birthdays(which are in Jan/Feb-ugh )

I got a bunch of other toys for them last week too. I'm nearly done with them, as well as 50% of the rest of my CHristmas shopping-yeah!

Jeni

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

My DS 5 LOVES LOVES LOVES his V-smile. We got it for him a year ago, but he hasn't really gotten into it until the last couple of months. He loves the Toy Story and Scooby Doo games. They also have a new Spongbob game out that is on his Xmas list along with the new pocket V-smile. He also has a GBA that he doesn't even touch.
The games are educational with adding, numbers, and letters, etc. So I feel better about him playing video games.
I agree with the other posters though in regards to the 9 year old being too old for it. I would definatly say it is for the 7/8 and younger set.

 

[kimpossible]

We have both and DS 4 loves them equally. That being said, v-smile just came out w/ V-tech which allows you to use the games inter-changeably w/ v-smile. I wish this was out when I bought the leapster. This is a great feature.