Christmas 2011 Gift Review : A Tablet for Kids

Well, I know what we want to get our youngest for Christmas this year: the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Tablet! It looks like the perfect balance between learning and play - and just the right size for our six year old (and strong enough to handle her older brother's rambunctiousness). I compared the LeapFrog Pad and the Vtech, and was really impressed with the LeapFrog Tablet overall. The LeapFrog Tablet has over 100 apps and cartridges available, with all the characters my little one loves! There are apps and games that feature everything from Disney Princesses to Dora The Explorer and tons more, and the tablet can also use the same cartridges that the Explorer. The Vtech Innotab doesn't say how many apps/cartridges are available, and though they appear to have some of the same characters, the selection seems to be about one quarter of the selection that the Leap Pad has. Both feature a 5" screen, but where the InnoTab only has 64 MB onboard memory (if you want more you have to put in an SD card), the LeapPad Tablet has 2 GB onboard memory. Both feature sensory/motion gaming capabilities, but the LeapPad can be personalized with your child's picture on the homepage of the tablet itself. They're both durable and scratch resistant, but only the LeapPad has a built in camera. For an extra twenty dollars, I think we'll definitely go for the LeapFrog Pad this year.