Leapster Explorer Hits Stores Soon! #win

I love the Leapster handheld games. When my oldest was 2.5 years, Santa gave him the original Leapster. It worked great and I could see him absorb skills, from letter recognition to fine motor skills. When his brother spilled water on it -sigh- we got him the newer Leapster that can be plugged into the computer to track his progress and upload games. Santa also brought one for my youngest at that time. The boys were now 3 and 2, respectively. Now, instead of fighting over who gets to play with the Leapster, they were fighting over their favorite games, like Thomas the Train, Finding Nemo, Wall-E, Star Wars and Up.

I also thought the handhelds had a lot of potential – the graphics were so much better than the games I played as a kid. Plus, they had educational value. But I have to say that I am in awe of the graphics and intelligence of the newest Leapster handheld game – the Leapster Explorer.

The Leapster Explorer has a lot of features that my kids love about my iPhone (and the new iPad). Not only can you play games via cartridges, like the older Leapsters. But you can also:

1. Upload e-books (Tag books),
2. Upload apps and videos (Leaplets)
3. Connect to the computer to track learning
4. Care for a virtual pet

And more forward-thinking than the iPhone or App, the Leapster Explorer uses Flash for awesome visual performance and a Linux-based operating system. The screen is big (3.2″ – 420 x 420 resolution), bright, full-color and touch sensitive. It has a peripheral slot for expandability, an onboard memory of 512 MB and a download capacity of 250 – 300 MB. The handheld, games and apps were designed for children 4 to 9 years old.

A. GROWS WITH YOUR CHILD:

One of my favorite things about the Leapster Explorer is that it is always at your child’s level. With other learning systems, some games become too easy, while others always remain too challenging. Neither enhances learning. But the Leapster Explorer games auto-adjust so that the kids learn at their own pace. This smart handheld is providing a customized learning experience for your child.

B. GAMES

There are a few games that the Leapster Explorer comes preprogrammed with. The rest are added either as Leaplets, which are videos, Tag Books and small games you can upload. Or, just like the previous Leapsters, you can play cartridge games. My son LOVES the ones he’s tried so far, like Toy Story 3 and The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation Plushie.

Cartridge Games that my son played includes:

• Disney Pixar Toy Story 3 – This game teaches phonics, spelling, letters and physical science. Kids can play as Buzz or Woody and move around on an interactive board game to save other toys in the Caterpillar Move. Even I learned a few things as I played and it’s a  must-have game, especially with the movie soon to be in theaters.
• The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation Plushie – Who doesn’t love the Penguins of Madagascar? The graphics are really good in this game as the penguins maneuver around the zoo, meeting up with alligators, rats, cockroaches and educational challenges. Kids will learn addition, subtraction, animal facts, logic and reasoning.
• Mr. Pencil Saves Doodleburg – I think this game is a must-have when you first purchase the Leapster Explorer. The reason I think it is must-have is because it has an art-studio, where kids can color, stamp and do cool graphics. That is something the original Leapsters had pre-programmed into them. If you want the Leapster Explorer to have that function, this game will do that plus more – like how to make different colors, trace shapes, number-writing and letter-writing.
• Disney Princess: Pop-Up Story Adventure – This game teaches phonics skills, story comprehension, letters, musical rhythm and pitch. Yes, my son has played. I have to admit, I learned neither he nor I are princess material, as it took even me a while to figure out how to get the cat to get out of the courtyard to feed the chickens. But as my son and I played I knew my niece would LOVE this game – right up her alley. Seven mini-games are in this 3-D, pop-up book adventure.

Other games that are available, but we didn’t play, are Dora the Explorer: Dora’s Worldwide Rescue, Globe: Earth Adventures, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: Super Happy Day!, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Disney Fairies: Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure, Wolverine and the X-Men, NFLRush Zone, Spongebob Squarepants: Fists of Foam, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Disney Princess Cartridge Game on Leapster Explorer

C. LEAPLETS

Leaplets are more diverse in what you can get. Currently there are three videos, some fun apps and you can even use the Leapster Explorer as an e-reader and upload some Tag Books. Here are the Leaplets my son tried:

E-Books: I am sure a lot of parents are familiar with the Tag and Tag Jr library. Now, just like an iPad, you can upload some Tag titles for kids to read, touch words, listen to the story and tap pictures for audio surprises. The title that we read was Ozzie & Mack. The story is cute, as Ozzie the Otter brings his pet bug to school. It could lead to disaster, but instead the teacher makes it into a learning experience. There was one picture in the story that covered a few words, but I think the LeapFrog team is fixing it.

To turn the pages, you just swipe your finger across the screen. If you want to hear a specific word you tap it. You can also grab words into a reader on the bottom of the page. And my son has figured out how to make the Leapster Explorer read the entire book to you.

The title I am most looking forward to reading with my son is Scooby-Doo! Shiny Spooky Knights – but I have to wait until October 2010 for that one! Very appropriate for it to come out around Halloween. Other titles that are available now are Dora the Explorer: Dora Goes to School, Go Diego Go! Underwater Mystery, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: Kai’Lan’s Super Sleepover, Learn-to-Read Volume 1: Casey Cat Has a Bat an T-Rex’s Mighty Roar. I think the T-Rex one is something my sons would really love.

Videos: LeapFrog has a great library of videos, so it’s no shock that you can upload some to watch on the Leapster Explorer. I am not quite sure how it works yet – or how the videos are divided. I know that the available videos are Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory and Math Circus. I have the actual DVDs of Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory and they are great. I honestly think the Letter Factory made learning letters and their sounds easier for my kids, so it’s a great video. But the video we have on our device is only Part 1 – so I need to figure out how to get the other parts. I’ll learn! I think when you officially upload a video into your device you get the whole thing and that I just have a trial video. That said, the quality is just like watching it on tv – but smaller. It’s great!

Game Apps: There are also small game apps that help teach learning skills, along with other life-skills. Some of the apps we’ve tried and enjoy are:

Jewel Train – This is definitely a keeper. It’s a fun game, but really it helps with logic as kids have to move train tracks so the train can move across the screen.

Harmonies – My son LOVES Harmonies as he sings along with a quartet to tunes like Row, Row, Row Your Boat or Twinkle, Twinkle Litte Star. There are around 5 or 6 songs (I can’t pry the Leapster out of his hand to find out) – I know Bach is in there, along with She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain. It’s so cute to hear my 4 year old sing along! Plus, he can conduct the 4 singers on the screen, turning their voices on and off. And he can also add sounds, like cymbals, a dog, a cat and drums.

Sugar Bugs - This is a fun application. You get to take care of teeth, as they have all sorts of bacteria, dirty teeth, food stuck between teeth, etc. And you have to use the right tool, like toothbrushes, floss, fluoride, a sucker, etc to get the mouth clean. It gets progressively harder as you play. And if it is supposed to teach good brushing habits, I agree! My son wanted to brush his teeth to keep the sugar bugs off!

Wheel Works – This one my husband thinks is too hard for our 4 year old. It teaches physics, as kids adjust ramp angles and speed to keep their wheel rolling in a prehistoric world. I agree it’s challenging, but I think once my son masters Jewel Train, this is the next app to get.

Other apps currently available include Alphabet Stew and Dice Ahoy.

MORE:

There is a Pet Pad game on your Leapster Explorer ready to play once you open it. This doesn’t require uploading or cartridges to start play. You can create, modify and take care of three little pets. You choose their name, color, features and more. My son has created a rabbit, sheep and dragon. Once you create them you can feed them, “fling them”, and bathe them. The only catch is you DO have to connect your Leapster Explorer to the computer to restock their food.

ACCESSORIES:

The Leapster Explorer will come with a USB cable to connect to your computer for additional interactivity. It uses 4 AA batteries, which do drain pretty quickly when your kids play with the Leapster whenever they aren’t outside.

Coming soon will be a Leapster Explorer Camera which will snap into a peripheral slot. It will be available around October 2010, giving kids the ability to take and customize videos and photos. It will retail for $24.99. Santa was planning on buying a kiddie digital camera for the kids this holiday, but I think he will simply go this route instead.

FINAL SAY:

Overall, we love the Leapster Explorer. It will grow with my son, challenging him at the appropriate level. Plus, more games and Leaplets will be coming out to keep it fresh and fun. The only bummer is the drain on batteries, but we always go through this when we get a new handheld.

BUY:

The Leapster Explorer will be ready for pre-order on June 7th, 2010. It will be on shelves July 15th. It will be available in pink or green for $69.99. Cartridges will be around $24.99. A pack of two Leapster Explorer Leaplet Learning App Download Cards is $14.99.

Win a Leapster Explorer to be DELIVERED to your door the day it hits shelves on July 15th!

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This is solely the opinion of the Mom Buzz. Other people may have different experiences with the product. And don’t forget to enter my other hot contests so you can win and try buzzworthy products! The Mom Buzz received the Leapster Explorer for review and is allowed to keep the review item. The sponsor will handle prize fulfillment.