Leappad 3 Review

Leappad3 Kids Tablet

As part of the Leapfrog blogger panel, my girls were lucky enough to be sent one of the new Leappad3 learning tablets to try out.  In the past, we have tried the Leappad Ultra (this year replaced by the Ultra XDi) and also the closest competitor, the Innotab in its various forms so it was a very interesting comparison.

My initial reaction when I saw the new Leappad 3 was "wowzers, that screen is tiny" but actually, at 5 inches (diagonally) it isn't any smaller than the screen on the Leappad2 - it just seems a WHOLE lot smaller than the 7 inch screen on the Leappad Ultra and Ultra XDi.  For an older child, I don't think the small screen is a problem but with an age recommendation of 3-9 years old, I think a younger child (such as Holly) would struggle with accuracy when using the touch elements of the small screen.

The Leappad3 is all about compactness.  It is a neat, light tablet but packed with tech.  It has both a front and rear-mounted camera, an integrated soft-headed screen stylus (attached to the tablet so that you won't lose it) and it comes with a number of games and creativity apps installed by default.  As Leapfrog fans, we already have a lot of apps downloaded ranging from £2.50 simple maths apps right up to the pricer big-named characters such as Frozen, Minnie Mouse and My Little Pony (which can cost as much as £20).  We were tempted to download the Frozen soundtrack but we already have it as a digital download from iTunes and it is a shame to have to pay for it all over again so that Lara can play it from her Leappad.

The single biggest draw for me of the Leappad 3 over the other kids tablets around is the speed.  Compared to other dedicated kids tech (Leapfrog, VTech or even kid-specific Android tablets) the new Leappad 3 is noticeably faster.  I don't know the tech spec but I do know that the speed at which apps loaded and screens transitioned was instantly noticeable compared to previous Leappad incarnations.  It is a big improvement and one which I think will mean that we use the Leappad as much as, possibly more than the family iPad.  I also like the clean and easy to use parent settings for configuring wi-fi set up.

I won't dwell on the Leapsearch capabilities other than to say that I don't feel kids tablets should bother.  For me, a good set of parental controls on your broadband account is a better way of limiting web content.  Lara came home from school this week wanting to find out more about the topics of "Dead Sea Scrolls" and "Hannukah", neither of which she would have been able to using the "kid-friendly" browser on the Leappad.  But Cat videos... oh yes.

Lara's favourite elements of the Leappad are definitely the learning games.  Recently she has discovered Lula Ladybird (a maths and spatial awareness game) and Secret Agent U which is a game for slightly older children to build basic computer literacy skills with some very basic software, hardware and networking concepts (I admit it, I was won over by the geekiness).  Holly also likes to play with her sister and most enjoys the Petathlon games app which accompanies the Leappand activity watch that they both use; it is a great way to bring the two Leapfrog toys together.  They both enjoy taking photos and it is very easy for me to transfer them to my laptop but they aren't particularly high quality so I'm not expecting many keepers!

Leappad 3 Lula the Ladybird

The Leappad 3 comes with a mains adapter for charging but we don't use it - I tend to charge it via USB from my computer while I am synching it with the Leapfrog Connect software (so that I can upload new games, take a look at Lara's learning journey and have a sneaky peak at the photos she has taken!).  I'm loving the idea of being able to 'tweak' settings on the Leappad to encourage your child to practice specific skills (although we don't currently own any games that support this).

Other than the tiny screen, I'm very impressed with the Leappad 3.  I'd prefer it if the grey colouring on the front wasn't already scraping off (not very kid-proof, that) but I think that's largely cosmetic and it would be EXCELLENT if it didn't reset the volume (up to about 75%) every time you switch it off.  I expect the Leappad 3 to be one of our most-used pieces of kid tech in the Mellow household.

Leappad 3 Selfie

  

Leappad Ultra Kids Tablet Review

As members of the Leapfrog Blogger Panel we have been excited to try out the Leappad Ultra kids tablet in the run up to Christmas. I should probably point out at this time that Lara has been using a competitor product for the past two years so was quite comfortable with the idea of her own tablet even before we tried the Leappad Ultra.

The Leappad Ultra is a tablet device designed for children from 4 years to 9 years old and I think this age range is quite accurate although I suspect a 9 year old would be wanting to move on to bigger and more grown-up things. For Lara, at age 4 and a half I think it is perfect as it feels like a whole lot of fun for her but almost every interaction with the Leappad is a learning opportunity. The Leappad comes with several out of the box apps and lots of others that you can either download directly to the device, through your PC using the Leapfrog Connect software or by purchase in store or online.

As an owner of a VTech Innotab (and having had the chance to try the Innotab 3 recently) I found it hard not to compare the two so I guess this is a good place for me to start my review.  Honestly, I would say that the Leappad Ultra is a world apart from the Innotab and here are the main reasons why:-

• The screen size on the Leappad Ultra is a good 7 inch touch screen.  In my experience, small people need a nice big screen with which to interact and the Leappad Ultra is about the same size as many adult tablets - Lara finds it far easier to use.
• The quality of the downloads is much higher.  While you will still pay a lot for games or stories which feature your child's favourite movie characters, there are plenty of affordable apps available to download and they seem more reliable, more appealing to my daughter and are just generally better formed and less formulaic.  However, I would still say that Android and iOS apps still present a far better value for money and quality for children.
• Wi-Fi comes as standard on the Leappad Ultra.  It was pretty much stress-free to set up and I'm impressed with the speed and level of connectivity that the device gets around the house.  Lara uses the internet connectivity to access how-to videos and videos of funny cats but I think we have yet to make the most of the wi-fi capabilities for multi-player gaming.
• The Leappad Ultra comes with a built-in battery and comes with a mains charger.  Both of these things are VERY welcome because otherwise a kids tablet that uses batteries can easily drain your bank balance!!! As it is, I've found the Leappad Ultra to hold its charge very well.
• I've found the positioning of both the front and back cameras to be very usable for Lara to take photos and I also feel that the navigation buttons are easy to access and use than on the Innotab.  The Leappad Ultra comes with a fun photo studio for 'editing' pictures you take and I think this software produces good (silly) results that make Lara smile.

As is always the case with any piece of tech she tries, Lara most enjoys playing with the art tools on the Leappad Ultra.  The art studio is a good mess-free way of Lara doing what Lara does best... creating!  The Leappad comes with a stylus (attached with a cord) to interact with the screen.

Lara already has a few Leapfrog apps downloaded into an account she has so she has very much enjoyed playing her favourite games on the much bigger screen - Lara's two most played games are Minnie Mouse's Bow-Tique and Team UmiZoomi.  You get three free downloads when you first set up the Leappad Ultra and I chose a mixture of stories and simply maths games.  I've also downloaded Lara a first French lessons series of videos, the first of which has been very successful.

Lots of people ask me, as a techy mummy, whether I would recommend a kids tablet in preference to an adult tablet for a child and until now I had always said no but I think I'm reconsidering my advice.  There is absolutely no doubt that an adult tablet offers a wider choice of applications for children and in many cases more intuitive user interactions and usability (in terms of basic child instincts I think iOS has things just right).  However, for my own 4 year old I wouldn't trust her unsupervised to use my iPad where I would the Leappad Ultra.  The benefits of a tough child-resistant design and the restrictions imposed by the limited types of applications available and the limited web pages and internet resources accessible mean that I would be far happier letting my two girls loose with the Leappad.  However, as Lara grows older and earns more trust and responsibility I think a less restrictive tablet would be more suitable.

Disclosure: As a member of the blogger panel I was sent the Leappad Ultra for review but my opinions are my own and I pride myself on honest feedback

   

VTech Innotab 3 Review

ASDA Direct have been running some great value toy offers in the run-up to Christmas and they asked Lara to give her verdict on the VTech Innotab 3 children's learning tablet.

Having been there at the launch of the original Innotab from VTech several years ago, we were fascinated to find out how this children's tablet had evolved over the past few years.  The first thing that I noticed (even if Lara didn't) was the size.  The Innotab 3 is quite compact and the screen is tiny - about the same size as a smartphone at 4.3 inches.

Setting up the Innotab 3 was very easy.  It took 4 AA batteries and then when we first used it we had to create a login for Lara where she could set her name and a photo or image to use for her profile.  Within a minute she was ready to start exploring - no need to download any apps or plug in a cartridge at this point although many of the default apps do need you to connect the Innotab to your computer (which requires a software download/install) in order to activate them.


The Innotab 3 is recommended for children from age 3-9 and I think this is a good guideline although I suspect an older child would want more control and need access to a wider range of apps.  My daughter is 4.5 and she was instantly attracted to the colouring and drawing apps which are installed out-of-the-box on the Innotab 3.  The tablet comes with a stylus to help you draw on the screen and you can 'paint' or 'draw' until your heart's content using lots of different colours and brushes.  There is also a simple colour-in app.

For older children there are some interesting default apps such as a friends contact list where you can store names, birthdays and notes about your pals.

To download apps onto the Innotab you connect to the internet through your laptop or PC.  There are lots of apps to choose from ranging from free, to as much as £20.  You can also download video content and there are some great children's TV series to download such as Tree Fu Tom, Chugginton and Peppa Pig and the downloads for these are priced competitively compared to 'grown-up' tablets.  There are some music downloads but we haven't explored them yet.

The Innotab 3 has a built in camera which is a really great feature that my 1 year old also enjoys using.  The camera can point out or in (great for taking selfies!) and you can apply silly special effects which always make Lara laugh.  The camera can take still photos or even videos if you have enough storage to save them.  The Innotab 3 comes with 2GB storage but you can add storage by inserting a Micro SD memory card.

We haven't really made the most of the games on the Innotab 3 yet but I'm told that the little S-pad control at the base makes it easier to play some popular games compared to previous versions of the tablet.  We have however used the e-reader as we own some original VTech games cartridges (Dora the Explorer and Hello Kitty) so both girls enjoy listening to stories this way and now that Lara is starting to learn to read she can use the 'dictionary' functionality whereby she can touch onto new words and find out what they mean.

I was a little disappointed to find out that the Innotab 3 didn't have its own internet browser, unlike its nearest competitor.  I think I would be happy to pay the extra money for the Innotab 3S to get this functionality if I had an older child who wanted to explore the internet a little more.  I also found that the Innotab 3 literally ate batteries.  My super-duper expensive batteries were drained within 3 days but thankfully I have learned from experience that VTech toys tend to benefit from an A/C power adapter which can be picked up quite cheaply online.

Lara was also sent a VTech games cartridge to try out on the Innotab - Thomas and Friends Exploring Sodor for Innotab. I think that the cartridges from VTech offer the best quality of app but it is a shame that they are so expensive (even with ASDA's great value this game is £19.99).  The Thomas and Friends app includes creativity activities such as building your own story and making up your own song.  There are also learning apps such as a pattern matching game as well as a read-along story that uses the VTech Innotab e-reader style and allows you to either read-along or have the story read.

The VTech Innotab 3 children's learning tablet currently costs £52 from ASDA direct (though it is proving very popular!)

Binatone Appstar Children's Tablet Review

Lara is really into her tech at present and I regularly have to wrestle my own tablet from her.  She has been trying out a tablet designed specifically with children in mind - the Binatone Appstar which is now available in Argos.

The Appstar comes in its own brightly coloured protective rubberised case which is great for protecting the corners of the tablet from bumps.  It also has a small stylus attached by a cord for use on it's 7 inch screen.  Lara struggled at bit at first with using the head of the stylus rather than trying to use it at an angle like a pencil but soon got the hang of it.

The Appstar runs Android 4.0 which means that the interface is recognisable.  However, the OS has been made child-friendly and by this I mean that the backgrounds are bright and bold and the icons are larger and less cluttered.  In 'grown-up' mode the operating system is a little more like that which I am used to on my own tablet.  I would say that I didn't find the user interface particularly intuitive to use, but Lara seems comfortable using the kid mode.

The Binatone Appstar comes with a 1GHz processor and 4GB RAM and I think the price reflects this, it is certainly less powerful and responsive than the latest 'grown-up' tablets on the market but to be very honest, I don't think my four year old is looking for speedy response times or fast internet usage!

The Appstar comes with a child-friendly internet browser and you can set up wifi connectivity when you first configure your tablet (through a step-by-step wizard) or through the parent settings.  I haven't quite worked out what 'child-friendly browser' really ... as far as I can tell it is a very limited access to pre-configured web-pages.  From the parent-mode the internet browser allows you to browse at leisure as you normally would do.

The Appstar tablet comes with over 250 'apps' pre-loaded onto it; these range from small fun games such as hangman to educational videos about volcanoes.  From autumnal craft inspiration to colouring apps.  If you set up a credit card in your parent account then you can also choose to download new apps for your children from the Amazon app store. None of the built-in apps are bog-names that are instantly recognisable but I think they are as good as, and in many cases better than, any of the apps you would find to buy on a VTech or Leapfrog equivalent.

The Appstar also features a built-in camera that allows you to take photos but this doesn't seem to have grabbed Lara's attention yet.

The Appstar tablet is available exclusively at Argos for £99.99 and it is recommended for children from 4 years upwards.  It comes with a mains adapter for recharging the battery - we found the battery life to be REALLY good, it survived nearly a week of occasional use without needing to be recharged.

Disclosure:  I was loaned the Binatone Appstar for the purposes of this review