Many of the Tag books that are supposed to be compatible have not been readied for the device quite yet. I'm surprised LeapFrog put this device out without baking their content fully. It seems content would take less time and effort than the hardware, but that's just a guess. Also, contrary to many of the early reviews I've seen, NOT ALL TAG BOOKS WILL BE COMPATIBLE. LeapFrog has a list of compatible titles on their website. LeapFrog did say in their press release that LeapReader "is backwards compatible with MOST of the Tag library." I just think it's strange that they didn't make all of the books compatible. Their support told me that if they don't make the book anymore, it won't be updated. I'm not sure why this is as it can't possibly take much effort to port the old files. I mean, at least make them an audiobook. I suppose it's licensing issues. You know who doesn't care about licensing issues? My 5 year old and 3 year old. They just know that Spider-Man won't work on their new pens. Their other favorite is "T-Rex's Mighty Roar." Fortunately, that one IS available as an audiobook, albeit not an interactive one.
The biggest nightmare of this device is the LeapFrog Connect software you have to use. It is recently updated to work with these devices. By "upgrade" I mean "made more annoying." Instead of just downloading content and syncing it to the pen from a content library (like your music library works in iTunes), you have to download the content each time you want to load it on a pen. This is annoying when you have multiple devices in a family. Most annoying, however, is the fact that the pen syncs EVERY TIME YOU CLICK A DOWNLOAD BUTTON. This will absolutely slow you down as you set this up the first time. Prepare to do this when the kids are not around. They will not be patient enough for LeapFrog Connect. Content management should work more like iTunes or anything else that syncs content to a device. This is a uniquely odd and irritating experience.
With the criticism aside, I have to note what's really important. My kids love it and are excited to use it. The music player and trivia games are solid add-ons. We haven't tested out the writing system, but my five year old is especially excited to learn to use this. The content is a bit weak at the moment, but you can just look at the old Tag content to see how much this thing is going to grow. My daughter is currently listening to an audio book while my son is dancing like crazy to one of the included audio albums a song about punctuation no less. They love it and have no comprehension or care about my irritations so far. That's what REALLY counts, isn't it?
LeapFrog Connect is just software that can be fixed. The hardware is solid and well thought-out. You and your kids will see this as a good upgrade to the Tag system. Just think of it as an upgrade to a game console like XBox stuff gets left behind. Don't think of it as an upgrade to something like an MP3 player where your content keeps working.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This product is missing one thing...the ability to hold ALL of the content. I wish you could download to a USB drive or something and plug into the pen, the book you want to read. Having said that, the old one only held 10 or 12 books. That made it a product that we liked, but didn't love. This one says that it holds up to 40 titles. As it is now, it holds all the compatible titles that we currently have. Not all are compatible however, and some that will be, are not yet.The other downside with this product is that when you want to download another title, you have to re-download it every time. It doesn't save them like it used to. That may not make sense to the new users, and isn't a huge issue due to the larger storage capability, but still mildly annoying.
With all of the negatives out of the way, I still would recommend this product. The battery life is long. We will go several months before it needs to be changed. It allows a child who loves books to spend time exploring themselves. They also offer way more content than they used to. I am glad to see they brought out a new one. I thought this product was dead when they brought out their last Christmas offerings, and it made me disappointed. Glad to see I was wrong.
One small thing I would say as well, for parents who are buying this as a Christmas gift. Open the package and get the books downloaded and ready to go before you wrap it up. It does take some time and considerable effort to get it up and running. It is not a add batteries and go type of item.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program We have several Leapfrog products in our house including the original TAG reader. The TAG reader is great. As a TAG reader this seems to be great too. So far every old book we have tried works.The new drawing system is nice too. The "ink" looks like a pencil and does as it says. It only works on the special paper.A great tool for kids to learn writing skills.
However, that is where the good ends. This device has too much and is too complicated for the young audience this is mostly going to be used by. With iPods and other music players doing the job the MP3 and audiobook feature of this pen could have been left out. IT is too complicated for a kid to access and my son had no interest in actually listening to anything through the pen. This is also heavier than the original TAG.
As for the software. The LeapConnect software has always been awful. It is extremely slow and almost unusable. The LeapReader system is even fully ready yet and you cannot buy new content through the software for this device. It says "Coming Soon."
Overall, this is not an upgrade to the TAG reader. I would stick to the original TAG and skip this.
Honest reviews on LeapFrog LeapReader Reading and Writing System
My daughter has had the LeapReader for \about two weeks now and loves it. She is always "reading" and playing with it. I love that you have the ability to work with your child on their letters, numbers and more with this product as well. Its not just for reading which is a major plus in my book. I wanted a product that will help get my daughter ready for school. She has mastered her ABC's and 123's but to be able to help her learn to read, identify words, letters and learn to write is amazing.This product is an amazing value when you look at the many years of use your child will have. In addition to the many different methods of learning that LeapFrog has packed into this amazing product. In addition the books and workbooks are very reasonably priced, and make great rewards, gifts and more. I strongly encourage that you check out this product, and consider purchasing it next time you are in the market for a new toy for your child or a gift. You will be glad that you did.
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When I received the LeapReader, I was a bit worried that my autistic five year-old wouldn't be able to to understand how to use it fully. I was pleasantly surprised when he grabbed it, turned it on and dove right into a book like he had used the LeapReader for years. His favorite feature is the ability to store music on it, as music is something he is drawn to.We are working on letters and writing in his therapies and I love the paper that came with the pen to write and practice tracing on. Having the guidelines there to work on his letters is wonderful and being able to use something he views as a toy to sneak in some extra therapy time makes me one very happy mom.
I do wish the memory was a bit larger as I can see him filling this up with all of his music, leaving little room for the books I want him to work on, but I'm sure we can make do for now.
Another thing I love is how it's rechargeable. We go through batteries like they are nothing with toys these days, so it's refreshing to have a toy that is rechargeable, cutting down on waste and costs of batteries.
All in all this is a great toy for any kid, but especially helps my autistic son.
*disclosure: I was sent this product for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*
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