This week I was sent a LeapPad Ultra to have a play about with, it is tipped to be one of the top sellers this Christmas. This is aimed at children aged 4-9 and I was intrigued to see what it would offer. We have an Ipad which Erin is well versed using as she mastered the art of that when she was in spica cast. I do let her use the iPad although do have some concerns with her using it. I worry about her dropping it and smashing it to a mazillion tiny pieces on my tiled flooring, as she insists on moving from room to room with it when I have repeatedly asked her not to.It is an expensive piece of kit. I also worry about the access they have on the internet as Dylan has already discovered things I wish he hadn’t when browsing the Ipad. I know this isn’t really comparable to the ipad but I knew it needed to offer something similar to stop her ditching it in exchange for the trusty iPad.
Therefore I was really interested to see if the LeapPad Ultra (retails at approx £119) would be enough to keep her entertained and challenged like the Ipad does. I was impressed.
The ultra comes in two colours green and pink and is Wi-Fi connected. The tablet is the only kids’ tablet with a tough seven inch touch screen, along with other key features including a 100% kid-safe web browser and a learning library of 500+ educator-approved games, apps and more. Kids can also connect tablets for peer-to-peer gaming as well as send personal messages to other tablets in a safe, controlled environment.
Recommended for children aged four to nine years old, LeapPad Ultra features a long-lasting rechargeable battery, two megapixel front and back cameras and video recorders, plus a huge 8 GB of storage for photos, apps, videos and more, which equates to up to 40,000 images.
The tablet is certainly robust enough for Erin’s use and I think it will provide her with hours of fun and will open up even more as she gets older. It is ideal for trips in the car. The older two have ipods and DS’s to entertain them and this makes Erin feel that she is in the loop. You can also buy apps and ebooks although these are more expensive that you would pay on the ipad which is a shame.
The camera function is great and one Erin really likes, although the images are very grainy. I don’t think she will really mind the grainyness and I won’t expect much more from a child’s product. She always copies me as I am always taking photos for the blog!
The tablet is quite heavy and although Erin is fine when sitting with it I can see it gets heavy for her if she is carrying it. Luckily it is robust enough to take a few knocks if it came to it! I really like the range of games and Erin loves the pet centre where you can choose an animal. She also really likes the art studio function where she can draw.
I can see why this will be on many childrens wish lists come Christmas and I will certainly be buying Erin the disney princess games to go with the LeapPad ultra.
Disclosure: I was gifted the LeapPad Ultra for the purpose of the review. Thoughts and opinions are all my own
2 Responses
We bought the original leap pad for Matilda’s third birthday. It was £40. There have now been two upgrades since. However, the one we bought is fab. She loves the cameras and the free games and e book that came with it. Fab for the car and while waiting for her older sisters while they are having their swimming lesson. The art programme is great too. The older two at, 7 and 9 also love it and it has space for up to four kids to have a profile which they can personalise, so it’s as win win all round. An excellent gift, but not sure I would have paid over £100 for it. I am more than happy with the model we got. My only negative is that some of the phonics sounds are not quite the same as those they teach at school, but it’s a small point and you can correct them. We’ll done Leap pad.
Hi there, I check your blog on a regular basis. Your story-telling style
is awesome, kedp doing what you’re doing!