LeapFrog Leapster Explorer

LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Learning Game System (Green) Comments:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed in LeapFrog,
July 21, 2010 This review is from: LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Learning Game System (Green) (Toy) To be fair, we’ve only played with one cartridge game and three leaplets so far, but I am thoroughly disappointed in LeapFrog right now. I will come back and update the review if the next few cartridge games end up being incredible.

My biggest beef is with the built in advertising. First off, for every new user you create, the leapster goes through a minute long ad insidiously called the “connect movie” about playing online and downloading leaplets, telling the child “for your included game, ask your parents to connect your Leapster Explorer to your computer, now” and again at the end, “for great games and more on your Leapster Explorer, ask your parents to connect now.” Gee, thanks LeapFrog, and since you only get one free game per toy, not per user, this isn’t even accurate. Once you’re done with that, you reach the main screen where your child can rewatch this “movie” as many times as they want by clicking what looks to be one of the game icons.

A second built in icon on the main screen really jumps out because the little pet you can create always starts out standing in front of it and it looks like a old movie reel. It’s the first button my four year old taps each time she turns on the leapster. Guess what? Is it a game? No, of course not, it’s just a bunch of trailers for different games and it looks like it’s maybe going to be automatically updated with new trailers as new games come out. I’m guessing this because the narrator tells your child “It looks like you’ve got some new trailers to watch play away!” in a super excited voice. Back to the question of “is it a game”, if you set the filter in the top left corner to only show games, the “connect movie” does disappear but the trailers icon stays. LeapFrog, if you’re reading this, please correct this! LeapFrog might think this is a good business model but this kind of marketing to kids just makes me want to walk away from any future LeapFrog products.

As for the games themselves, my daughter so far seems to like the Mr. Pencil game. As for the leaplet games, I agree with another poster that you wouldn’t pay more than $1.99 for an iPhone app of similar quality vs the $7.50 that each one costs. In my opinion, the leaplet game Wheel Works isn’t even worth a penny. What a waste of money.

All of that being said, the screen clarity is amazing, the interface is easily navigated by my four year old, and LeapFrog has the potential for an amazing product here. That’s why I’m giving it a 2 instead of a 1. They just need to respect the fact that we’ve already spent $70 on the toy and $75 on three more cartridges and $22 on three leaplet games and don’t want our children to be marketed to directly to buy more on the darn toy that we’ve already put $150+ into.

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5.0 out of 5 stars NOT compatible with Leapster2, PRICY games,…. but we still LIKE it. (and some tips/ideas),
July 3, 2010 This review is from: LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Learning Game System (Green) (Toy) If you’re currently looking for an educational handheld system for kids 49, then you should consider the Explorer. Let me start by saying I’m a fan of the Leapfrog concept (educational handheld system for young kids). So perhaps I’m a bit biased. But we are also honest, so if we don’t like it, we’ll say it. Our son got a Leapster LMax Leapster LMax Learning Game Systemwhen he was 4. He loved it and the games he has for it. Unfortunately the LMax was not durable (you can check my review on it). We then got him a Leapster2 LeapFrog Leapster 2 Learning Game System Green just last january. The Leapster2 turned out to be much better and durable (you can check my review on it also).

And now Leapfrog has come out with the Leapster Explorer. I’m a bit disappointed and bothered by the fact that LeapFrog just brings out this completely new system, while we just got the Leapster2 six months ago. Still I’ve become such a fan of the concept I decided to get it anyway. Perhaps you can best check the Explorer, it’s functionality and specs out at the LeapFrog site. You will find all specs and functionality there.

There are several games available for the Explorer, including: Toy Story 3, The penguins of Madagascar, Disney Princess, Ni Hao, Mr. Pencil, Sponge Bob, and Dora. Most are even available on Amazon, otherwise check the Leapfrog site.

But be aware that the games for the Explorer, as the games for the Leapster2, are pricy. Twentyfive box each. (The Leapster2 games you can get at better prices now.) You need at least one game cartridge. And kids will want to switch games from time to time. You won’t need a ton of games but a collection of 3 or 4 games will be nice. For example we have a collection of 6 games for the Leapster2 (collected over a period of 1,5 year). Two he got as a present (thankfully), three we bought, and one we downloaded (free) from Leapfrog. He likes them all, and offers him plenty of variety.

In any case, if you’re getting a handheld educational system, remember that you’ll need to get a few game cartridges. Consider the cost of the Explorer plus one initial game cartridge. And then be prepared to spend the cost of another game or two in the near future. Be prepared to spend/invest this amount, otherwise your kid(s), and you as a parent, will be greatly disappointed.

What also helped us in justifying the investment in LeapFrog system, is that we rather have our son playing with an educational system, then with mindless addictive game systems, which there are so many around. At least with LeapFrog he’s learning.

Another advice I can provide is to get the rechargeable system LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Recharger , or get rechargeable batteries!!! Really,…. this will save you a LOT of money on batteries. LeapFrog does not recommend using rechargeable batteries, but advertise to use their rechargeable system. I don’t understand why. They claim normal rechargeable batteries will not work well with the system. But we use Duracell Value Charger With 4AA Pre Charged Rechargeable Nimh Batteries, CEF14DX4N (they are less expensive then the LeapFrog recharge system), and they work just fine for us. But no matter which option you choose, either one will SAVE you money!

Another tip might be, if you’re planning a long trip/travel with the kids in the near future, then maybe you want to wait till just before your trip to get the system. It might be an idea to include it in your budget for your trip/vacation. We got our first LeapFrog system (the LMax) just prior to a vacation with a long flight. We were so happy we did. It provided a lot of entertainment for our son during the long flight. But also at airports, during long car rides, in malls, and at the hotel. Besides providing him with educationalentertainment, it also provided us with a lot of piece of mind, so we could enjoy the relaxing time during those long flights, car rides, and strolling through malls, till we got to where he could also enjoy the sights and/or vacation activities.

One other thing you need to know is that the games for the Leapster2 and the Explorer are NOT compatible. So the games for the Leaspter2 will not work with the Explorer. You will need to get new games for the Explorer. Apparently the games for the Didj LeapFrog Didj Custom Learning Gaming System are compatible but you may loose some of the functionality of the games (at least that’s what I’m reading). You would need to get new games for the Explorer. This must be a big disappointment for customers who already own one of the other Leapfrog systems (Leapster, LMax, Leapster2 or Didj). I certainly was. But I decided to try it out anyway.

Beside the fact that the Leapster2 games are NOT compatible, we still do like the Leapster Explorer. It has ton of functionality and better specs then the Leapster2. Bigger and better screen, more memory and faster processor. You can also expand the Explore with a camera. You will have to buy the camera expansion separately though. So that’s additional cost. Our son doesn’t have a camera yet. So that maybe an option for the future, but for now we’ll wait. Maybe over a couple of months or so.

I can’t say yet which one our son likes most, the Explorer or the Leapster2. He is very happy with the Explorer. We bought the Toy Story 3 game with the system. It’s perfect timing from LeapFrog. We just saw the Toy Story 3 at the movies. At our 5 year old enjoyed it and now he can play with the characters on the Explorer. These days he’s playing the Explorer of course, but he’s hasn’t forgotten his Leapster2. After all he has six games with the Leapster2 and only one with the Explorer. I don’t think he’s aware of the better screen. He notices it’s bigger, but he gets caught up in the games, so I don’t think he really cares.

From a kid (4, 5 or 6 year) points of view, I don’t think they really care for the better specs or more functionality. They probably just want to play the games. But parents will probably appreciate the better specs and the additional functionality.

We’re happy he likes the Toy Story game, and doesn’t bother much with the games on the system itself (yet). The pet game apparently requires you to connect to “buy”, virtual food, and/or shampoo, but it’s with virtual money, NOT real money. There’s a whole virtual world online for the Explorer. I’m a bit uncertain yet of the virtual earning and spending of virtual money for kids in this virtual world. I’m thinking it can help with educating about earning, spending and saving. But you know,.. we can do that in the real world too. We always to this anyway already, when he sees advertisement on TV, or in stores (not only toy stores). Explaining what things costs, what costs more, what costs less, when something is needed, when it’s nice to have etc. He usually understands. At times it’s even an incentive for him to save in his treasure chest (piggy bank) to later buy something he really likes. Who knows, maybe it will help further in educating on earning, spending, saving ect.

By the way, we do regulate our son to the use of the Leapster2, and now the Explorer. Or to any other game system. We do have an old Nintendo system at home, he likes to play that also a lot, but we keep that to a bare minimum. Once a week, an hour or so, or preferably even less, once a month (till he completely forgets about, … you know,… “Mario”.). As for the LeapFrog systems, even being educational system, we don’t want him spending all his time on it. So we have a range of one to two hours a day. (Except when we are traveling or special ocasions, then he’s allowed to play longer if he wants.) We often also have him skipped a day or more. Sometimes even a week or two. There’s plenty of other activities to do then just playing on a system.

We can’t say anything on durability yet. We had a bad experience with the LMax, but the Leapster2 was a success and very proofed to be durable. I expect the Explorer to be durable, simply because I think Leapfrog must have learned from experience now. In any case I will update this review should the need arise.

It is also good to know, that Leapfrog has a reasonable customer service. Check it on their website. If anything is wrong with your item, they will help, but you need to contact them and be prepared to be polite and persistent. For example, we were able to get a replacement for our LMax. Although it took quite some emails to their customer support, they did come through at the end.

Be sure you keep the invoice of the item you buy in a safe place, (and remember where you put it). You will need it if you have to make use of the warranty.

Leapfrog currently has a warranty period of 3 months for all their products, which I think is a bit short. A warranty period of 6 months would give customers much more confidence, and would certainly help the customer in his/her buying decision. But as I mentioned, I expect LeapFrog to have learned from experience, so I hope and expect the Explorer to be at least as durable as the Leapster2. Time will tell.

I’m reading that the Explorer also might need calibration from time to time (just as the other Leapfrog systems). So if your Explorer suddenly appears not to be functioning, don’t panic. Chances are you just need to recalibrate it. It’s simple. Here are the steps. You can also find them on the… Read more ›

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5.0 out of 5 stars The Leapster2 Is Good, But the Leapster Explorer is Exceptional,
June 7, 2010 This review is from: LeapFrog Leapster Explorer Learning Game System (Green) (Toy) Our 6yr old loves his Leapster2. Even when he received the Didj, he still only wanted to play with his Leapster2. Now his (and my) new favorite handheld toy is the Leapster Explorer. Here are some of the main reasons why:

1) The color screen is larger and brighter. It can also display 3d and flash animation. I also like that I can sit next to my son and see what is on the screen, whereas on the Leapster 2, you had to look at the screen straight on.

2) The interface is very userfriendly. I think a 4yr old could use it just fine.

3) I love that the Explorer adjusts to your child’s skill level. This is especially important for my son because he tends to opt for easier activities. The Explorer will increase the difficulty of an activity if your child continues to excel with it. I loved that my son was learning about isosceles and scalene triangles the other day.

4) My son prefers to use the stylus over his finger when using his Explorer. So far the screen has proven to be very durable. Some of the games requires continuous tapping and sometimes my son becomes overzealous and taps a lot harder than he needs to.

5) My son loves to read and I was surprised that he was not more excited about the Explorer’s having an ereader app. I think he enjoys reading the old fashioned way.

6) Although the Explorer is not heavy, I would like to see the next one be slightly lighter in weight. The reason is because your wrist and arm can tire easily, especially if you are playing with the unit in one hand and the stylus in the other.

(I received a sample unit free of charge from LeapFrog to base this review upon.)

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