LeapPad 2 review: new software
As well as the 300+ apps and games that work with the LeapPad2 the new model comes with some bright new software. It comes pre-loaded with a bunch of games and apps, and you get two more – Cartoon Creativity and Art Studio – as soon as you complete online registration.
Cartoon Director is great, and really takes advantage of those two improved cameras for kids to create, direct and narrate their own animated movies.
There’s a heavy Disney tie-in with several of the games and creative apps.
Disney Animation Artist was a big hit with my daughter, who enjoyed drawing Mickey Mouse and friends with clear instructions and helpful hints.
While this and other art apps shouldn’t replace good old-fashioned drawing with pens and pencils, it’s still a novel way of teaching kids to trace and draw shapes fluently.
I thought Mickey Mouse would be a bit old-fashioned for my daughter but she enjoyed following the instructions and creating the drawings and animations of the old cartoon character.
Also from Disney is a Brave eBook, based on the latest Pixar movie. The LeapPad’s eBooks are built to improve word recognition and reading basics. Again this is no substitute for sitting down with a child and a book, but it’s a more productive app than many digital toys.
My daughter also enjoyed some of the games, such as Roly Poly Picnic and T-Rex Rush that both use the built-in motion-based accelerometer, and an updated Stretchy Monkey. These work much like iPad apps, and can keep little Johnny and Jane quiet for some time.
The games and creative activities are well explained first by voice (not too American but occasionally grating nonetheless) and pictures, so there shouldn’t be much time spent before your child is engrossed in the app or game.
One great feature of the LeapPad is that it automatically adjusts the learning to each child, asking more challenging questions as children’s skills develop, and most games feature different playing difficulty levels.
Prices for new games and educational apps aren’t in the iPad’s 69p range, with prices starting from £3.50 up to £7.50. Kids can get pretty blasé about the ease of getting new games and can tire of them quickly, so it’s worth checking that they use the installed games first before you invest in new ones.
As we pointed out in our original LeapPad review £5 isn’t too expensive if it keep your child quiet for half an hour or so every now and again, and a lot of the software has educational benefits, too.
Comments
mich said: my son is 3 and has autism and is able to use this fine and he loves it
Crocket01 said: Disagree that I bought it to keep her quiet for hours on end Yes journeys can get quite boring and after a few gamesdrawingsstickers you are going to get bored too and so is your kid This is great for about 30 mins or 45 mins when you want to talk to your better half or your exhausted towards the end of a journey The purchase of the tablet is one tool in my armour Do this right and you should find that your kid is bored of the tablet games as well and will want you to play with her after about 45 mins
Crocket01 said: Just to add so far impressed with battery life I was expecting abysmal life but actually used it on a couple of away trips on the train with no problems New rechargeable batteries giving at least 5 hours use for me
Crocket01 said: I recently bought my 3 year old the leappad 2 after looking at several sites to decide which is best I bought it because I knew Id need to spend money on games and so this was also economically cheaper than buying an ipad or even a samsung tablet So I bought her a game for 3 year olds Jake and the Never Land Pirates she can just about manage this game I also bought Cars 2 which she is struggling with and was really aimed at 4 year olds I bought and downloaded some alphabet aps as well as the music player which she thought was cool but didnt touch it again The leappad games are geared more for an older child say closer to 4 or older
Llinda said: Hiya was wondering if I could get somehelp pleaseMy daughter has had her leappad2 three weeks now and she has cracked the screenWould i be able to get a replacement or get it Fixed somewhereany comments would be much appreciated thank you
djhawkes1 said: Hi to AllI brought 2 Leappads for my twins I was digusted they didnt come with adapters to be able to connect them to the mains and that they require batteries It doesnt take too long before the batteries die which becomes very expensive in the long run so I was forced to buy two adapters I managed to find them for half the price of the ones that are selling in Toys R Us and I brought a few extras so if anyone requires one drop me a line on jameshawkes1hotmailcouk or 07739314749 and I will gladly send you one for a much cheaper priceThanks
fantastic dina said: I like the LeapPad 2 however my 5 year old has quickly become bored with it The games are all about the same from what I can tell He much prefers my phone so i bought him a Nabi
Blainejna22 said: I bought two leap pads for my 4 and 5 year old They love it Be aware when the screen stops working even after you callibrate the screen and you still do not get a response with your stylus you might have crumbs or dirt stuck in the edges of the screen and the tablet I used a thin shape hard plastic credit card to get in between and remove any debris so that callibration is a success I was amazed the little that was trapped there makes such a difference If you callibrate and not wipe your screen or clean in between the edges of your screen you will have and continue to have problems with callibration even thou it tells you that callibration was successfully completed I havent had a problem with the screen since I cleaned it out
Mdartis1 said: The leapad 2 is wonderful My 25 montn old grandson just received one last month and he is already navigating through the system and taking pictures
Lxvxv said: This device is a disgrace Awful battery life awful screen awful software 20 for a game my 2 year old can use an ipad with peppa pig and angry birds etc then I gave her this its like giving her a baby rattle Getting her a cheap android tablet to replace this waste of money disaster product AVOID THIS LEAPPAD
not a happy bunny said: i just unboxed my boys yesterdayand to be honest im wishing i never bothered wasting near enough 150its all very well sayin g about learningbut by the time i had learned how to navigate through the menus my head was friedif i was looking to by my boy something to learn with i wish i got a pile of books and jigsawthere is soem things kids just should not have and thats a 2 bit tablet rip offthat costs a fortunewithout the accesories needed for it to be enjoyableANYONE THINKING OFF BUYING THISBUY A PLAYBOOK AND DOWNLOAD LEARNING APPS FROM THE NETTHE LEAP PAD AINT WORTH THE PLASTIC ITS ENCASED INAND I WONT EVEN START ABOUT THE GAMES 25 EACH 910 FOR A WASTE OF MONEYJUST GLAD I CAN USE THE DURACELL BATTERIES IN SOME OTHER TOYAT LEAST I RE COUPED A FIVER FROM THE NEAR ENOUGH 150 WASTED -
AlexandraVW said: Hi i recently purchased a new Leappad 2 from a private seller on Ebay for my 3 yr old boy for Christmas 1st day he played with it Christmas Day he dropped it and the screen has cracked Something come onto the screen which startled him and caused him to let go of it As it is actually recommended for children from the age of three i would have thought it would have had a more durable screen Do you know if Leappads warranty would cover the screen as im not happy with the quality of the product
Parr Michelle said: I did a lot of research on both I purchased the Leapad 2 and then took it back because with the upgrades to Innotab 2GS there is WiFi 2 Gig memory with the option to expand it up to 32 Gigabites Leapad has 4 Gig and no option to expand it Innotab can upload your movies but Leapad cannot One additional bonus is that the downloads for Innotab range from 299 to 499 verses the Leapad 2 downloads starting at 499 to 999 The Leapfrog games are also more expensive I really like Leapfrog and have a lot of their products but I feel the Innotab 2 and Innotab 2GS has outdone Leapad 2 this year No doubt the Leapad 2 is awesome as is all of their products Either way I dont think you can go wrong with your purchase Both are excellent products So whatever product you have chosen to purchase I think you will be pleased
Abhishek said: I need to know if i can transfer videos from my laptop to leappad2and play it on leap pad2
Bigjsautorepair said: I think I am in the same boat as a lot of parents my house looks like best buy my 5year old baby girl has the leap pad she likes it but my 7year old has a htc flyer I wish I could go back in time and do it again my 7yr old will not play with any thing close to a reg toy He and she are getting samsung tablets for xmas 10in version But I hope I can give her leap pad to some child that needs it
Simon Jary said: Yes you can buy games cartridges as well as download
Nmitchell040983 said: Just dont purchase it directly from Leap Pad Their customer service is terrible No support for you as a customer at all I bought a Leap Pad 2 for my grandson for Christmas and had it directly shipped on 11-26 They sent it back to Leap Pad and they can not tell me why where it is or give me a credit so I can purchase another one If I had not called I still would not of know they had not received it and now it is too late to get one for ChristmasWill never purchase from them again
Lynda Molloy said: can you buy actualy physical games for the leappad 2 or just download them I saw games in argos but thought perhaps this was just for the leappad 1
Rsepulveda86 said: I love the idea of the leap pad2 The whole concept is to let kids be kids while educating them in phonicsreading and math science skills while also being fun and easy to useThe point of the leap pad 2 is also to censor children from inappropriate use of the internet and tomanage how they use the device which in my opinion should only be used for educational purposes Im so glad that you cant download Angry birds movies or cartoonsit defeats the whole purpose if it doesIts bad enoughthey spend too much time watching television and playing video games the least we can do as parents is monitor what type of hand held portable device they can useIm not a complete ogre once in a while ill let my 5 yr old play angry birds on my cell BUT she s at the age where she actually wants to learn and read and do fun educational activities Im my opinion I believe that an iPad iPod tablets with unlimited possibilities diminsh a childs ability to learn any thing educational Lets face it people the majority of parents gets their kids these devices not for educational but to shove something in their face and keep them quiet for hours on end
Simon Jary said: Youre right that something like the iPad mini or smaller Android tablet offers more cheaper software But its initial cost is multiple times that of kids tablets like the LeapPad The LeapPad also has no internet access so you can feel more reassured that your child is better protected from the horrors of the web Obviously theres a lot of good kids stuff on the web - but much of it from a games point of view wont run on an iPad