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LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer (Green) Review
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Built-In Camera Encourages Creativity
Prepare to be amazed by the wacky and touching videos, photos, and artwork that your child will produce using the LeapPad. Voice-guided instructions make it easy for children to edit and share their creations with friends and family. And with 2 GB of built-in memory, the LeapPad has plenty of space to store your budding director's creations.
The built-in camera allows kids to become the stars of their own stories. The Story Studio and Art Studio apps allow children to modify pictures they take and drop them into storybooks. Both apps are free and can be downloaded once you register the device.
Leveled Reading Experience
LeapPad's Ultra eBook are interactive, cinematic experiences designed to guide children through books and immerse them in the joy of reading. Each book is actually three books in one, with different levels and modes optimized to support reading development. As a child builds his/her reading skills, the levels adjust automatically and are remembered from book to book.
The Ultra eBook innovative activities build comprehension skills and expand vocabulary with support features that allow your child to touch a word to see its image, touch an image to see the word highlighted in text, touch words to hear them sounded out, or find definitions in the visual dictionary. All of this with characters that children will love, brought to life through animation that keeps children engaged as they learn.
Each Ultra eBook features:
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The LeapPad also automatically adjusts learning so that kids can learn at their own pace while staying engaged. They can even practice writing with the included child-sized stylus.
Track Your Child's Progress
The LeapPad's online tool, the Learning Path, allows you to tune into your child's progress and track achievements. You can choose to receive regular e-mail updates on your child's accomplishments, which provide insight into where your child may need additional support and give you new ideas for even more learning fun.
Registration Allows for Maximum Capability
Parents will want to register the LeapPad so that they can download the three free apps and access the online tools. The online tool allows you to track your child's play and learning progress and share your child's photos and creations. Plan to spend about 20 minutes registering, downloading the apps, and helping your child set up a user profile.
What's in the Box
LeapFrog LeapPad with stylus, four apps (Pet Pad, Story Studio, Art Studio, and one app of your choice), extra stylus with tether, USB cable, installation CD, quick-start guide, and instructions.
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Introducing LeapPad Explorer, the personalized learning tablet just for kids. A built-in camera/video recorder, 100+ games and activities and innovative creativity and reading apps offer limitless learning and endless ways to play.
Features include:
•A broad curriculum that goes beyond school skills
•A built-in camera and video recorder
•Skill levels that automatically adjust to each child?s pace
•100+ games and activities (works with all Leapster Explorer games and apps)
•Appropriate for children ages 4 to 9 years
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LeapFrog Leapster 2 Learning Game System - Green Review
 Children will love playing the educational games. View larger. |
 Insert different game cartridges (sold separately) for endless fun. View larger. |
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We found the initial set-up to be relatively easy: install the four required AA batteries, and navigate through the self-explanatory screens to create user profiles for up to 3 children (which come in handy for accessing online features). After this quick set-up, a menu screen will appear, where you can choose to play the pre-loaded games, go online, or insert a game cartridge.
Fun and Learning
Leapster 2 games are designed to grow with your child ages 4 through 8. The console is pre-loaded with two games: The "Dragons to the Rescue! Learning Game," is a "video game" type activity with four different levels, the first helping kids identify letters and numbers, the most advanced giving them spelling and multiplication practice, all while navigating a dragon past monstrous storm clouds and scrambling to collect magic crystals. The "Creativity Castle Art Studio" is a rather low-tech art program. Players can select a background scene to "color" using the stylus and "decorate" with fun animated stamps. While it does foster creativity, this program is somewhat clumsy -- your Paint program on your PC does a much better job. But "Dragons" was fun enough to keep even an adult tester enjoyably diverted.
Unfortunately, an SD card is required for taking advantage of some of what the Leapster 2 has to offer -- which is a drawback, because it must be purchased separately. For example, without the SD card (which offers more memory) you cannot save artwork.
In the meantime, without the SD card, you can still purchase game cartridges, as well as download new games, or take advantage of the online "Learning Path". (This online program allows you to register and upload your children's Leapster 2 profiles to show you their learning activities and their progress.) And you still can plug your console -- with the included USB cable -- into your PC for your children to view and print "rewards" for completing different game levels (for Dragons to the Rescue, they're certificates of achievement) or to print pictures to color with actual crayons (to encourage some "old-fashioned" creativity!) You must first install the Leapster 2 software on your computer, which comes on the included CD-ROM.
What's in the Box
Leapster 2 Game System, USB cable, CD-ROM
PC Requirements
All Leapster games work with all Leapster systems.
PC Requirements
Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system
Pentium III 500 MHz processor
Monitor resolution of at least 1024 X 768
Available USB port
256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
300 MB free disk space
Internet connection
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 or higher
CD reader
Mac Requirements
Mac OS X 10.4+
PPC G4 or any Intel-based Apple computer
Monitor resolution of at least 1024 X 768
Available USB port
256 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended)
300 MB free disk space
Internet connection
Safari application
CD reader
Leapster2 System comes with built-in starter games; additional software sold separately. Requires 4 "AA" batteries, not included. Measures 13"W x 10.5"H.
Fisher-Price Kid-Tough See Yourself Camera - Black Review
Create fun pictures of yourself and your friends with the Kid-Tough See Yourself Camera from Fisher-Price. Featuring a 180-degree swiveling lens and special effects, you can easily take self-portraits and then swivel the camera to take photos of the people or things in front of you. Load the pictures into the downloadable software to share them with family and friends!
Creating a self-portrait is a whole lot easier when you can see yourself! With its 180-degree swiveling lens, low-light performance, and 4x digital zoom, the See Yourself Camera takes the mystery out of picture taking. The swivel holds three different positions: forward, up, and backward. Slide in an SD card to give yourself additional storage for pictures and videos of yourself, your friends, and your family. This camera has large, child-friendly controls, is designed to be durable, and can survive being dropped time after time.
This camera features fun backgrounds and frames to add a zany, personal touch to your pictures. You can choose from a variety of in-camera special effects options, including mummy faces or green mouths with fangs, or you can load your pictures into the downloadable software and choose from colorful borders.
When you use a USB cable (not included) to connect the See Yourself Camera to a computer, you can download pictures to view and edit using software from Fisher-Price (download online). There, you can choose special effects, organize your photos, and make them into cards and books to share with your friends and family.
The downloaded software is designed to work with PC computers. Our Mac-using testers were disappointed they couldn't edit pictures on their computers, but they could still view and save their pictures.
See Yourself Camera, four AA batteries, and instructions.
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