LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Tablet (Green)

After some debate between getting an explorer and donating my DS to my son I eventually made the purchase after I saw that the leappad had superceded the explorer.

Truly one of the best purchases I have made for him. His dad is quite into gaming so he obviously wanted to be involved with his own games too. This little gadget is great - when you recieve it you get 4 apps, a pet pad - a la nintendogs, an art studio, a storybook studio (which we haven't really looked at yet) and an app of your choice. We chose the T-rex e-book as he loves dinosaurs.

The pet game is fairly decent - washing (which requires child to blow over microphone to blow dry their pet! - very DS-esqe!), feeding, a frisbee style game (which involves shaking the pad madly!) and a tricks section which requires the player to write letters in order to get the pet to perform. Emphasisng it's use as an educational toy.

The shampoo and treats are used up and require you to connect to your pc to download more - but worry not - it's not a con for more money! Simply by playing on the game they collect tokens which are exchanged for further products, either for your pet or bits for other games you might own. At this point it also uploads data on your childs progress which is useful to see how they are getting on.

The art gallery has been used extensively so far too, the usual gadgets available.
E-book also good highlighting the word that is being read as well as offering additional information when you click on a specific image, e.g. Troodon had large eyes making them good at hunting in the dark. It also offers background sounds and songs that add to the story.

There are a range of apps that can downloaded from leapfrog, ranging from £3.50 to £7 so you don't need to even buy a boxed game to begin with.

The camera is only low resolution but is easy to use - and of a similar quality to the stand alone cameras available for this age range. And it also allows them to be strectched, scribbled on etc., saving both the original and the edited version. So if you were considering a camera anyway this is probably a better choice value for money wise. We have got quite a few decent pictures of people and pets and he's really pleased with the images which is all that matters.

It's not perfect of course - the screen is a little smaller than it appears on the leapfrog website, but still large enough for the games and books to be easily viewed. and it EATS batteries! Decent batteries do last for maybe 6 hours of play - but don't be tempted into cheap ones - 2 hours we had from one pack! (now looking to buy rechargable ones!)
Then there is the cheeky 'preview app' showing your child a range of downloadable of apps that they will obviously want to get downloaded! But i guess it also allows them to make their own choices of games, etc.

In summary - durable, sturdy, educational but needs lots of battery power! And my son loves it!

The leappad is a great toy for children. We have many leapfrog products including the leapster explorer. My son was 4 in may and had an IOU for his birthday to get the leappad which we now have.
The setting up does take time (id do this prior to xmas day for those buying for xmas) as the updates took 15 minutes and I also had the software installed for other leapfrog toys, so this could add more time if its your first leapfrog connect toy.
All leapster explorer apps can be transfered to the leappad and therefore this can also take time too.
Once opening the box you can play straight away, but limited to what, therefore connecting is the best thing to do. Once all updates etc are done your ready to play. You get a choice of the 4th app, which I did find limited as we had all but 1 of the offered apps, therefore we didnt have a "choice". Personally i would have preffered an app card like you get with the leapster.
All leapster explorer games work on the leappad, we already had a few so my son was playing straight away. He finds that when playing the games his thumb slips away from the A button, as its onscreen and not a button. The screen for playing cartridge games is no bigger than that of the leapster as the extra screen is used for the A and B buttons and L and R. Also the "home" key is under the direction pad, causing occasional press resulting in restarting leappad.
We have found that my son goes back to the leapster explorer to play the cartridge games as he preffers the "buttons" and also L and R are in the correct place and easier to use.
If your child has unlocked parts of a game, this is stored on the console and not on the cartridge, therefore switching consoles starts games again etc...
We also have most apps. These are now able to be paid for online, which is a great add on. Leaplet cards are of a value of £5 each. Please be aware of this as some people are selling leaplet cards for a stupid £20+ value!
The app center as its now called (leaplet store) is great and some good game. The prices have changed recently and vary per game / app.
I love the new rolly poly game which uses the motion of the leappad to be played.
If you already have a leapster explorer (with camera) then I would think hard about the upgrade to the leappad. Im currently not finding anything different other than 1 game, rolly poly. Remember screen size is only same!

Although they seems some negatives, this is only in comparrison to the leapster explorer!

It will eat batteries if you buy cheap batteries or those not for high drain useage. I do find this the biggest problem with leapfrog products as I have friends that I recommend these products too, Then I hear, they dont use it much. The reason being as there is never any batteries in the unit!! We use high rechargables and dont have any problems.

My daughter loves her Leappad. I have to say that from the outset. It's well-built, good looking and all-in-all a good piece of kit. However...
As many have said, it EATS batteries and you really will have to use a mains adaptor for any longer sessions. Given this there really should be one included rather than charging for a separate one. The in-built and downloadable apps don't give nearly enoug opportunity to practice writing etc as they give the impression of doing and the notion of having to constantly buy stuff fot the in-built pet is surely just training small minds that micro-transactions are acceptable. Which is, of course, what the software industry wants us to think. They may not have to pay for them, but there is no need to make it required to connect to Leapfrog's site to do it. The ability to buy these things could have been included in the programme allowing the child to earn the rewards and spend them on the pet. Just as they can on the Click-start. Incidentally, there is very little that can be done with the pet. Wash it, feed it, chuck it and do a bit of writing. There are far more options for the pet on the Clickstart. Why so little? Oh yes, you can buy a programme that lets you do more.
The software is generally far too expensive fir what it is and much of what is available is not designed for this device. In fact, books actually designed for it are only now appearing and are MUCH dearer than the older ones. The US prices are, as usual, much lower than here and making this a product with more longevity will be very expensive. The in-built make your own book programme is a great idea, but making the kids pay to add a new design is mean. It should be capable of just using blank pages and allow them freedom to design.
My daughter is also very frustrated by the pedantic explanations of every action which cannot be skipped or turned off. Having to wait for them to finish explaining the same things every time she plays a game or level really annoys her.
Finally, the tv commercial gives the impression it can send e-mail. It can't, at least not with in-built software.