Discount Sale LeapFrog LeapPad2 Explorer, Pink

If you want a child-friendly tablet-style device, this is the best one on the market as of October 2012. But you have to understand what you're getting and why this is desirable. There are a lot of positive reviews that are a bit inflated, and many negative reviews that are simply unfair in their expectations. Here's my realistic parent-friendly review...
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First, the LeapPad is more rugged and more child-friendly compared to an iPad, iPod, or Android tablet. I know parents who prefer to let their kids play apps on those more sophisticated devices, but if you go that route, you're taking a risk with a more expensive and more fragile device. You're also opening up a potential can of worms since those devices usually include unrestricted access to the internet (which may expose your child to inappropriate material or allow him/her to accidentally make purchases, etc.). The LeapPad's more durable casing allows young children to hold and carry it with less likelihood of damage. Since it has a fairly wide bezel all the way around the screen, it also offers space for a child to rest his/her palm when writing with the stylus, with fewer "false taps" that can occur when their palm or fingers touch the screen instead of the stylus. And, of course, since it is not wireless-connectivity enabled, you don't have to worry about your child stumbling across objectionable content or making accidental purchases. You control the content on the device by syncing to your computer and deciding what to install (the sync cable is included, and plugs into a standard USB slot on your computer).
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Second, the LeapPad is much more responsive than any of the other child tablets we've tested. We bought our 2.5-year-old daughter a FisherPrice iXL, which was cheaper and came with 6 very basic apps that we thought would be plenty sufficient. However, after a few weeks, she was still struggling to learn how to use the apps due to noticeable lag/unresponsiveness during screen taps. The inconsistent results when she interacted with the screen made it hard for her to learn the interface. Sometimes tapping an icon would do what she wanted, but often, multiple taps would not produce the desired effect. Often, she had to ask "Daddy can you help me draw?" or "Daddy can you help me play music?" in order to access or use a program. When she tried a friend's LeapPad1, however, it was noticeably more responsive, allowing her to understand the interface MUCH better. When we purchased a LeapPad2 we were delighted to find that it's even snappier than the LeapPad1. Within a few hours, our daughter had mastered how to access all of the applications and she also understood about 50 - 60% of the more advanced functions within each program (such as choosing the small, medium, or large eraser in the Art Studio drawing program). I'm certain she learned it so quickly because the screen and stylus respond faster and more consistently (about 95% of all taps register correctly, even in the hands of our 2.5-year old).

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Third, the LeapPad has a decent array of basic apps/features already included. When you unbox it, you'll need to install four AA batteries, create a new "profile" for your child, then connect to an Internet-connected computer to load on some of the apps and register the device. The applications included are:
1. CARTRIDGE: which accesses the content on a cartridge, which must be purchased separately
2. PETPAD: allows you to customize the type, color, and features of a small electronic pet, who can then be fed, bathed, or used to learn how to draw upper- and lower-case letters.
3. CAMERA: allows you to use the front- or rear-facing lenses to capture photos or videos of decent quality under ideal lighting conditions (decent enough to delight a young child, that is).
4. MYSTUFF: a consolidated inventory of MyPhotos, MyArt, MyVideos, and MyStories, all of which are created in other apps.
5. MYBOOKS: a bookshelf-style interface that links to eBooks which must be purchased separately
6. MUSIC: a jukebox-style interface that includes one album with five songs about topics like punctuation, vowels, the alphabet, etc.
7. SNEAKPEEKS: a link to various advertisements for add-on content including downloadable and cartridge-style eBooks, games, etc. (Some parents may feel annoyed to have a link to advertisements at all, but I appreciate that they've been confined to an app you must click on to launch. Thankfully, the ads are NOT displayed elsewhere on the device and do NOT intrude upon the functionality or appearance of other apps.)Schwinn Easy Steer , LEGO Star Wars , Step2 Easel For Two, Razor eSpark Electric , Little Tikes Endless Adventures, KidKraft Grand Gourmet , KidKraft Nantucket Table, Radio Flyer Classic , Lego 6857, Alex My Busy Town, Mini Kick Scooter , Lincoln Logs Collector s , Megabloks Halo Covenant , LEGO Creator Grand , Discovery Channel Video, AmScope 40x-1000x, John Deere - 21 , LEGO Whitecap Bay 4194, Pacific Play Tents , Melissa Doug Deluxe Folding , LEGO Tower Bridge 10214, Plush Santa Suit, Step2 Deluxe Canyon , Magic the Gathering M13, Chicco Lil Piano , Interactive R2D2, Step 2 LifeStyle Dream , Bazoongi 48 Bouncer, Tabeo 7 Inch Kids, Power Wheels Disney, Radio Flyer All-Terrain, Thomas the Train TrackMaster , Evenflo ExerSaucer, Fisher-Price Little Superstar, Cobi RMS Titanic, Hot Wheels 3-Lane, Ybike Glider- Deluxe, Razor E300 , Hot Wheels Super 6-Lane, Melissa Doug Deluxe, LEGO Creator Pet , Kidkraft Deluxe Let , Lifetime Portable, LEGO Star Wars , LEGO Creator Maersk, Peg Perego John Deere, Fisher-Price GeoTrax , Step2 Naturally, Angry Birds Plush , Mega Bloks World of Warcraft
8. ARTSTUDIO: a simple but decently-featured drawing program much like the basic Paint program on most computers.
9. CREATIVITY: allows you to make short 3-, 4-, or 5-section animated cartoons that include your own photos and voice if desired (this is the most complex app, but plenty accessible for children 4 and older, or with adult assistance).
10. One FREE APP of your choosing from a list of three provided when you sync and register the device. The three options were a game, an eBook, or a video. I had assumed there would already be eBooks on the device, so I chose the free video (a 38-minute tour of the "Letter Factory" that teaches the sounds each letter of the alphabet makes). Had I known the MYBOOKS app would not include an eBook, I would've selected the eBook instead.

Certainly, the LeapPad is a larger investment up front ($99) than many other similar kid-friendly electronics; however, I was pleased to find that the add-ons are lower in price that many competitors. For example, the add-ons for the FisherPrice iXL averaged $25 per title. Although each title included 6 features, the main lure was the eBook and the rest were mainly re-skinned options with very little added content for the built-in programs. That's exactly why we never bought any add-ons for the iXL. With the LeapPad, however, I was delighted to learn that you can buy an eBook alone for approximately $5 - $7.50. So we can buy our daughter three nice eBooks for the price of one add-on title for her FisherPrice iXL. There are also other apps, such as a story creator that allows you to use your own photos and voice to create your own stories, for $20 or less. Although the costs could add up quickly, keep in mind that for a young child like ours, you won't need to buy ANY additional content to keep him/her occupied for many dozens (probably hundreds) of hours. The included apps--especially the PETPAD, ARTSTUDIO, and CAMERA--will keep a lot of three year olds happy for a LONG time. Our daughter spent three hours just walking around the house snapping photos and giggling.Monster High Sweet, Playcraft Sport , LEGO City Fire , Step2 Deluxe Art , Strider ST-3 , LEGO Star Wars , Fisher-Price Kid-Tough , JOOLA Inside Table, NEW Yugioh Konami Trading, Barbie Sisters Family , LEGO Star Wars , Pure Fun 9005MTH, Fisher-Price Discover , Realistic Life like Baby, Nativity Fabric Advent , Fisher-Price Power Wheels, Melissa Doug White , Bruder Mack Granite , Huffy Disney Cars Bike, LEGO Creator Winter, Little Tikes Activity , Blast Zone Little Bopper , mini kick Scooter, Melissa Doug Folding, Pacific Play Tents , Combi All in One , Kidkraft 2-in-1 , Plan Toys City Series, Razor Dune Buggy, Razor Pocket Mod , Lazertag System 2PK, John Deere Sit-N-Scoot, Barbie Glam , Multi Speed Pottery, Intex Jump O Lene , Anatex Deluxe Mini , Pacific Play Tents, Step2 Naturally , Power Wheels Barbie , On The Edge 900124, Melissa Doug Jumbo , Educational Insights Geosafari , Huffy 20-Inch , AmScope 100 , Silverlit Ferrari Enzo, Step2 New Traditions, Dominion Big Box, Eclipse Board Game, Erector Special Edition , Magic the Gathering , Power Wheels Barbie, Magna-Tiles Working Trucks, Magic the Gathering

Fourth, the LeapPad interface is very child friendly. The physical buttons are minimalist and positioned well out of the way. They include a POWER button for turning the device on/off, an INCREASE and a DECREASE button for controlling the volume, a four-way NAVIGATION button (presumably for games or navigating menus, but we haven't had to use it at all yet), and a HOME button for returning to the main page. The buttons are sufficiently recessed or placed so that accidental button-presses are very rare. This is important because few things are more frustrating for a child than having their e-activity interrupted because they leaned on a button that returned them to the home screen, or some other such issue. Instead, most of the buttons they'll actually use are on-screen and controlled with the stylus. There are very few redundant buttons (some apps have a virtual home button, despite the device already having a physical button for that purpose) and many response options are standardized (to "accept" an option is always a green checkmark, and to "reject" or "close" an option is always a red X). This is good because it minimizes confusion related to the interface, and it also shows that Leap Frog has invested a lot of care and thought in the design of the apps. The LeapPad also has a built-in gyro to reorient the screen as you tilt/turn the device, as well as to play certain motion-sensitive games.
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Fifth, the LeapPad has a very large (2.5"W x 4.5"L), bright, colorful screen. The one major shortcoming here is that it really isn't very suitable for use outdoors in bright sunlight, which washes it out so badly it can't really be used. If you're in shade or normal room-level brightness, however, it is very clear and colorful. Although it is not incredibly high resolution or high contrast, it is definitely crisp enough to provide a very pleasant user experience. Shapes, animations, and videos all render very clearly, without annoying jagged lines or pixelation. Watching the letter factory video we installed for free, there was a slightly muted color cast, much like streaming a video at mid-resolution on Netflix, but the animation was still very colorful and impressively smooth. I don't know if the slight lack of crispness was due to the limitations of the screen or the quality of the video file, but either way it did not detract from the viewing experience.