iPad 2. Kindle. Android Tablet X. Popular gifts, all. In fact, odds are a bunch of you are stuffing stockings with them right now. But if we define popularity as how many casualties the war between supply and demand leaves behind, only one tablet stands out this month.
Alas, I have no spawn of my own. So when LeapFrog mailed their new Tag Junior, a handheld device that reads special LeapFrog books to children, I had to call in the big guns for the review. Err…little guns.
Leapfrog and Disney have teamed up to develop what is, essentially, a Wii Fit for preschoolers. Although, the Zippity does more than just burn fat in a fun way—its educational as well.
You want the best for your child. And if your kid is to have a shot at being Gordon Gekko or just the next world text messaging champ, they need start early. Real early.
Tag Junior book pal, LeapFrog’s newest Tag reading system, is now kid-friendlier with its chunky, ubercute, small-hands-friendly design, so you can start neglecting your children even earlier.
At some point in our lives, we were cramming for exams that we had no chance of passing. It is unfortunate then that we did not have the Leapfrog Crammer at our disposal, which would have permitted us to create customised digital flashcards for viewing whilst listening to our tunes.
Today, LeapFrog pulled the veil off of two handhelds aimed at edu-taining kids who are still too young for an iPod, a mobile and maybe even a Nintendo DS. The Leapster2 is a US$70 streamlined, net-connected version of the first Leapster, a chunky, ergonomic thing designed for kids ages 4-8, with new games from the Star Wars and soon-to-be-everywhere-I-can-feel-it Pixar Wall E franchises. The cooler of the two, and an acknowledgment that LeapFrog knows its handheld competition, is the customisable ARM9-powered Didj, as in, “Did you do your homework, young man?”
LeapFrog today introduced a baby brother to the Fly “pentop computer.” The US$50 Tag uses the same Anoto high-res scanning technology to “read” specially printed books to kids, and can connect to the Internet (OK, net-connected PC via USB) to download audio and programming for up to five books at a time. In addition to age-old classics like The Little Engine That Could and Olivia, the list of US$14 launch titles will also include Kung Fu Panda: Po’s Tasty Training and Walter the Farting Dog Goes on a Cruise—books I didn’t have the privilege of enjoying when I was a lad. All of this happens this winter. [LeapFrog]
