This Christmas, a lot of parents are buying their kids a learning tablet. For this educational toy, a couple of major brands are in competition with each other: LeapFrog and VTech. Both are big bestsellers, and each has its pros and cons. They are similar in that both learning tablets are ideal for children aged 4 to 9 years old and features a sleek design, as well as a 5” color touch screen and a tilt sensor. Both come with a stylus, but can also be navigated by using the fingers. These learning tablets can be used for different apps and games for fun and learning, and can be used with either a Mac or a PC. But how are these 2 learning tablets different?
Pricing
In terms of price, the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet is available for around $190, while the VTech InnoTab Interactive Learning Tablet is around $80. This tells us that LeapFrog’s learning tablet is over $100 more than VTech’s learning tablet, but let’s see if there are good reasons for this.
Onboard Memory
LeapFrog’s learning tablet has as much as 2GB of onboard memory, while VTech’s learning tablet only has 64MB. In terms of onboard memory, clearly, LeapFrog’s learning tablet has an advantage of 1,936 MB or 1 GB and 936 MB over VTech’s. However, only VTech’s learning tablet has an SD card slot. This means that its memory is expandable; LeapPad’s learning tablet’s memory is not.
Software
Some software that can be purchased separately and used with the VTech InnoTab learning tablet are Dora the Explorer, Disney’s Toy Story, Disney Princesses, Disney Fairies, Cars 2, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, SpongeBob SquarePants, Scooby-Doo, and the Penguins of Madagascar. For LeapFrog LeapPad’s learning tablet, games and apps are available in cartridges and can be bought separately, some of which are Dr. Seuss Fox in Socks for first graders, Disney Pixar Pals, SpongeBob SquarePants The Clam Prix, Disney Pixar Cars 2, I SPY™ Super Challenger, Disney Tangled, Ultra eBook Adventure Builder: Thomas and Friends, and a whole lot more.
Features
VTech’s InnoTab learning tablet has as much as 4 varying media players for playing/viewing photos, videos, eBooks and mp3’s, as well as an Interactive globe, a clock, a calculator, a friends list and an Art Studio; LeapFrog LeapPad’s interactive kids’ learning tablet features 4 apps included, which are Art Studio, Story Studio, Pet Pad, plus 1 app that you can let your child choose. Both learning tablets cannot be used to access the internet directly, and downloaded games or apps will need to be transferred through the included USB cable, via a Mac or PC. A lot of parents feel that this is a ‘safety feature’ that protects their kids from a lot of contents on the internet, which are not kid-friendly.