LeapFrogLeapPad Ultra/Ultra XDI Kids' Learning Tablet, Green (styles may vary)(Discontinued by manufacturer)

My daughter has had the Leappad 2 for just under a year. (I've written a review for that, including that she brings it to bed more often than dolls or bears). Two days ago I placed the Leappad Ultra in her hands...I wished I had video taped it. She was watching the Magic School Bus on the LP2 and I started up on the LPU and handed it to her. Her jaw dropped, she stopped singing (maybe breathing) and couldn't take her eyes off it. My friend and I were asking her if she liked it, if she's Ok, calling her name... she was in a daze, literally. About 3 minutes after she was able to respond. "Mummy I love it I love it l love it...wow wow wow". She proceeded to investigate the location of the buttons. She wanted to know how all the new (included apps) worked and began clicking on icons. Sometimes I observed her just sitting holding it with a smile. When I inquired she said: "the game is loading". The first night she stayed up 2 hours past her bedtime, allowing her to play constantly for about 6-7 hours. No issues... except the loading time which she has not complained about. She has about 16 apps from before. She had re-played more than half. She said "wonder if this (cartridge) would work". I left her to try and she came to me with a colorful, grainy frozen screen. I don't know if she removed the cartridge while game on... possible, because when I shut down, insert cartridge and started it was good and she was saying "I didn't want that cartridge again". She is 6 years old, by the way. Favorite app is the Pet Party. Her only complaint was that sometimes she doesn't actually touch the screen, but by hovering over it engages the screen and maybe does something she didn't want done. So I guess her LPU is ultra responsive.As a parent who waited for the delivery of my pre-ordered LPU and had to read negative reviews from everyone except people who got theirs free, I had 2 thoughts: 1. Why can't I get a free LPU? 2. Hmmm, can't sell LP2 yet. Well ignoring #1, so far the LP2 had been bagged and not missed.From my experience, the registering of the device was reasonably quick - especially since I had a slow connection, but didn't want to wait to get home. LOVE THE WIRELESS OPTION. The loading of the 23+ apps took less than 1hr (sorry I didn't use stop watch). I like that you could work on it while it charges. So I had everything loaded and had to wait a while before the light indicator changed from yellow to green. I don't like the front camera on the side... harder (relative to LP2) to take self portraits and videos. She hasn't gotten accustomed to it yet, but hasn't spent much time at it. I prefer cartridges to downloads - can be used on more than 3 devices if we need to share. But there is wonderful space on her LPU - under 1GB with 3 screens worth of apps on the device . (Even with the LP2, space utilization was great - never deleted any of our videos or art work, tons of space with 16+ apps)The free app is either: Scaredy Cat, Ozzie & Mac ebook or hmmm...I can't remember, except that it was lame and not even an option for me. That loads first.I have not used the peer-to-peer because there is no one (no free LPU here or nearby). We have not gone online yet so will update when we do. As a parent I don't like her 'access' to the App Centre, to create wish list. I want her content with what she has, and ecstatic with what she gets... not what she begs for. I will remove the icon at some point. I was able to change the time on the clock by clicking on it, without connecting to pc.I will update as she plays. She is away for weekend and I'm trying to refrain from logging on as guest. I want her experience as the user to come through.For registering LPU, Leapfrog has a reward: buy 1 get 1 40% off until 08/31/13.By the way, I don't like Leapfrog's gel skin as it isn't shock proof... see my review.UPDATE 08/28/23: "I wish it was as fast as the small Leappad [Leappad 2]". After two weeks she is complaining about the loading period. Even with the current firmware, the Ultra has frozen about 5 times today. Had to wait about 3 minutes when frozen to shut down. And had to try 3 times for it to actually start without sticking. I've added a few new cartridges and apps so these are keeping her entertained despite the wait. Hope it speeds up over time. Taking back a star though.

Our big kids (6, 3) each received one as a Christmas gift this past year in anticipation for a long trip. What a life saver! Kept them preoccupied for most of the drive to and from, and restaurant outings were a breeze. Highly recommend headphones for car trips so parents can have peace while kids play on.Our oldest had the original Leappad which she could never play because our younger child would literally beat her up to get his hands on it. So it is great that each has their own now. The larger display and faster processor is very nice. Love it that it connects wirelessly for updates because connecting via USB was cumbersome. Bright idea to tether the stylus to the device. Kids love the front and rear camera. They enjoy playing tic tac toe together wirelessly. But for me, the best is that it now has a built in lithium battery. I despised having to charge, replace, and recharge those rechargeable batteries! Yay, so happy that is a thing of the past!!We considered getting them iPad mini's, but we would be so upset if they broke them! The Leappad is a durable kid tablet. Also, its nice that they can't visit any old website. A few months ago I noticed pop up advertisements for American Horror Story coming up as my three year old watched Lightening McQueen videos on Youtube on our iPad. Needless to say, I was mortified! Additionally, as nice as it is that there are so many free games out there for the iPad, kids get so confused and frustrated at the locked features/areas that can only be unlocked by purchasing or the pop up ads for other recommended games. We ended up with loads of useless games the kids accidentally installed and charges for accidentally purchased games when we forgot to lockdown our iPad.I absolutely love the content Leappad develops. The kids love the recognizable characters the games are based on. Best of all, they really learn stuff and they think learning is fun! Whenever my daughter spouts out a new fact about something, like the sun is a star or killer whales can eat sharks, she says she learned it from her Leappad. The games are pricey at retail price, but during the holidays most of them go on sale. I picked up several at $9.99 and the My Little Pony game at $6.99 this year! Just stock up then and give out for good grades or improved behavior throughout the year.The Zui search engine is not like the ones on a computer. It is category based like music, animals, science, etc with no way to type in a web address or search outside of the designated categories. So it is very secure and limited.So overall, we really like our decision to stick with Leappad. It makes sense for us and our kids right now.

No way to repair it in India. Do not buy ..... my kid already broke the scree and can't get it repaired now !!!!

Excellent product, my kids love it. We bought two, one each for our 5 and (nearly) 3 old kids.Our 5yo previously had the LeapPad 2 and she loved it. It was a sturdy and tough product, and it copped all kinds of abuse! It even worked after our youngest threw it in the bath tub, I dried it out for a few days and it was still useable in spite of the screen being a bit fuzzy. The poor old Leap Pad 2 ultimately met its demise when my husband accidentally stepped on it, the force of which completely obliterated the screen - disappointing considering everything it had survived! But we were thinking about upgrading anyway as both kids love Leap Pad.A few reviewers have complained about the screens breaking easily on the Ultra, but it seems as tough as the Leap Pad 2 to me and as with any electronic product you do have to exercise care as nothing is unbreakable. My 2 (about to turn 3) year old is currenlty putting the Ultra through its paces, but I'm more mindful to maintain control of it this time! i do believe my 5 year old gets better value out of Leap Pad as most games are geared to that age, but I figure the younger one will grow into it in time.In relation to education, I think Leap Pads have some educational value but I didn't really buy these consoles for educational purposes. I think it has helped my oldest child most with writing and drawing, and she also loves the camera. The leap pad is very good for creative activities, and to me it's just a fun toy for the kids to play with rather than an educational tool. Also be mindful that the kids may get bored with it just like any other toy, at which point I recommend putting it up in a cupboard (out of sight) for a few weeks. When you give it back its like Christmas has come early!The Leap Pad Ultra has better graphics and camera than the Leap Pad 2, it also comes with more pre-loaded apps. I only bought two additional apps just as a treat, and they are apps both kids can use. I find that less is more with these apps, and you're better off buying one or two of the more expensive apps than a whole lot of cheaper ones as they usually have a wider range of features and little games within the game. My kids like the Penguins of Madagascar and Mr Pencil, and we have the Crayola Art cartridge from the old Leap Pad which also works in the Ultra. Also don't bother with e-books, they're a waste of money! Just buy games or videos and read real books!As a side note, the wifi is GREAT, the LeapPad 2 didn't have wifi and you had to connect it to a computer every time you download an app, it was such a pain! With the Ultra you can download straight to both devices, it's fantastic. I recommend buying the apps as a download rather than a cartridge, we have a couple of cartridges from the old Leap Pad and they either go missing or cause fights over whose turn it is to play!

The Pad in-itself is good... but Apps and Games are expensive... without which the TAB is not much.

We bought this tablet for our 4 1/2 year old daughter and it is used by her and her twin 3 year old brothers. I have an overall positive view of this tablet, but there are some niggles, so I have set out below our pros and cons for you to consider if you're thinking about getting one. Our 'purchase context' was that we wanted a learning tablet for our daughter as we do not have much time for learning support (jobs and three small children). We also wanted her to have some experience of using a computer as we don't have any 'adult' tablets in the house. We also wanted something small and entertaining that we could take on longer trips.Pros:- this tablet is attractive to children, sturdy and very easy to use. Our 3 year olds have absolutely no problem logging on in their own profiles and activating the various apps and games.- the games and apps appear expensive, but they are frequently on offer and we have found that we normally pay round £7-£9 for the games and around £3.50 for the apps/ebooks, The related upside is that you don't have to worry about adverts and you don't have to pick through several crappy apps before getting a good one. All of the Leap products are good, some more so than others, of course. We love the way that the games adapt to the child's progress, getting harder and harder as they learn how to play/solve/spell/add up.- it can withstand being dropped from child-height onto tiles - ours has been dropped a couple of times already (bought at Christmas). We're now buying the carrying case, which also stores the cartridges.- there is wireless internet capability, but it is locked right down, which for us is a pro. No parent controls on any other tablets could possibly give enough reassurance for me to let a 4 year old use them unsupervised. With the Leappad, you simply don't need to worry. There is a range of YouTube content and also more general browsing content, all pre-vetted and approved.- the final 'pro' is the biggest: my children absolutely love this tablet and have even managed to start sharing nicely with each other as they are very keen for it not to be put away (which happens if there is arguing over who's doing what).Cons:- VERY American accents on all apps and games, although this may not be an issue for you, It would be nice if the accents were more neutral or you could select a UK accent from time to time.- the games and some of the books come in tiny little cartridges, which are fairly easy to misplace. I'd recommend getting the carry case to have somewhere to put them.- the 'tech' in this tablet is rather poor. The screen is not particularly responsive. The load times can be quite long, ditto the 'thinking' times. Having said that, it's for our little children and they're happy (not knowing any different).- in the 'parent' section (locked by pin code) you can theoretically buy apps and books, however, I have found that the browser is so slow and painful to use, that this functionality does not work. Happily, you create an online parent site and you can browse ebooks and aps there, with automatic download to the device. Half a 'con' for this as I prefer to use my laptop for purchases anyway.If they could improve the 'tech' and processor speed, this would definitely be a 5-star product for me.UPDATE: Dec 2015. The tablet screen has now 'died' - the graphics are there, but the screen is more or less completely black. It is possibly a failure of the backlighting. It makes the tablet un-useable and therefore it is broken with less than one year of sporadic use by our children. (It was out of favour for about three months and has therefore had maybe 6 months of regular use). I have downgraded this from 4 to 2 stars and purchased an Amazon Fire for Kids set up instead.

bought this and a purple one as Christmas presents for my children, 4 & 2, they both love them the 4 year old who is used to playing on my phone and tablet was able to use it straight away, the very smary 2 year old took a couple of days to get the hang of it.I would recommend this as a good starter tablet, positives, the apps are easy to navigate, its colourful, and they can use it unsupervised (which was really what I was looking for over just buying a tablet) they are very robust and although i wouldn't like to test it think it could handle a few knocks, the battery when charged seems to last well (a week of short play every day)negatives, its very heavy, the 2 year old who loves taking photos cant hold it up to use the camera function, the internet is slow, and you know children they have very little patience and will tap continually causing it to crash, both have frozen completely needing to be restarted, much to the frustration of the 4 year oldwe got these on sale at £75 glad we didn't pay full price, but despite the small niggles the kids are really enjoying them