Customer Reviews

LeapFrog Leapster2 Recharging Station

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I contacted customer support because I needed two batteries (for my 2 boys) and didn't want 2 charging stations...waste of money! They replied with the following information!

"The replacement cost for Leapster 2 Recharger Battery Pack is $10 to cover shipping and handling.

You can purchase replacement parts by calling our Consumer Services department at 1-800-701-LEAP from 9am-10pm EST Monday- Friday and 9am - 5pm EST Saturday. A representative will be glad to take your order."

So those of you in need of 2 or more here you go!

I purchased this recharging station for my daughters' two leapster 2 systems in hopes of saving money on batteries. After opening the product and contacting leapfrog I found that your are not able to purchase extra rechargeable battery packs. In order to get another pack, other than the one that comes with the recharging station, you have to purchase another recharging station. So if your looking to charge more than one leapster don't waste your money. Also I'm guessing once you've charge the battery the average 300 times the recharging station is no good because you can't purchase another battery pack without a new station. I wish I would have read reviews before purchasing.

This will only recharge the batteries approx. 300 times! After that it is useless! I had to throw mine out because it would no longer hold the charge. Save your money and just buy regular rechargeable batteries. They take less time to fully recharge AND they last longer (1,000 charges) AND they are MUCH cheaper! So, be green AND save money! Don't buy the recharger.

Okay, I haven't actually received this yet. I've been looking at reviews for the entire leapster system and was trying to figure out whether or not to get the recharging station when I was reading the many reports that you cannot get an extra battery pack and then the last post which said you could. I wanted to check for myself before placing my order online. When I first asked about getting just the battery pack I was politely told NO, it was not available, I would need to purchase TWO charging stations. I mentioned that I read a review on AMAZON that said it WAS available and the polite lady put me on hold to check. When she returned, she was happy to sell me one for a total of $10.00. So, even though I haven't purchased the system yet, I do have one extra battery pack on its way. She said it would take 10-15 business days and it was only available for purchase over the phone. I have never written a review on anything but I thought this was interesting enough to post. Hope it helps someone in the future!

Just a warning for those who have more than one child and more than one Leapster: you will need to buy the recharger for EACH Leapster you have (in order to get the rechargeable battery pack for each Leapster). You could easily get by with only one CHARGER station, but you need multiple batteries.

So if you only have one Leapster, this could be worth it, because it is cheaper than disposable batteries and more convenient than rechargeable batteries.

But for me, because my family has 2 Leapsters, I found it to be not worth it to buy two (2 x $35 = $70), although I do use rechargeable AA batteries, which saves a lot.

because I just bought this!!! We learned with our very first Leapster purchase YEARS ago (DS was only 3) that getting the rechargeable dock is INVALUABLE!!!! A side note, however - if you plan on using the Leapster 2 on the road (as we often do), get a car charger and/or carry the old back with extra batteries. This is PARTICULARLY important if you plan on using for long trips involving air travel or train travel. There is simply nothing worse than running out of "juice" too early!!!

Sorry to be so blunt. But this is what I will say if anyone asks.

THE GOOD: It does charge. It is sturdy. It does work with the Leapster 2 and only the Leapster 2, not any previous models. For how long? It says about 300 charges. With these kind of batteries, it is best to use it all the way down, then charge it for 8 hours to get the maximum efficiency. I gave this thing 1 star because it is convenient and it does work if you make it work as it should.

THE BAD: The battery does not last that long, maybe a year if you can maximize the charging routine and your child doesn't use it every day. The biggest flaw in its design is the charging base. There are two "spring" loaded clips that locks the battery and the Leapster 2 in place. It is challenging enough to place the Leapster on it the base in the right sequence to lock it down. It is a horrendous experience to remove it, because those clips act like a vice, holding the Leapster down tight. With this flaw in design, it has brought on some major aggravations for my wife, a tantrum with my child, and some expletives from me. There is a cure, though. Just use a small Philips screw driver and remove the 4 outer screws and 2 inside to get rid of these clips. LeapFrog people obviously never tested this piece of junk before marketing it. If I still had the original box, I would have returned it and the Leapster 2 too, from all the critical reviews about it as well. The original Leapster and its charging base were OK without all of these hassles with the Leapster 2.

The recharging station seemed like a great idea because it saves us from having to change out batteries every week 1/2 if your child is using the leapster often. However, be
aware there are two very strong cons: 1. Leapster no longer sells additional battery packs like the package claims( I just bought mine in Feb/2011). I assume this is because they want you to buy the station versus just the battery pack so they can make more money. They should be trying to please the customer and with the many complaints they receive about the Leapster itself and now this, you'd think their development department would figure out a solution. Also, if you have more than one child with the leapster, you have to invest in two recharging stations. 2. If you have the pink leapster,the recharging station only comes with in a blue&green battery pack and it looks ridiculous on the pink leapster. Obviously they didn't think more about this either.

Anyway, although it does save on batteries, you have to think about the above issues before purchasing. Also, Leapster's support department is not responsive to the customers needs and concerns.....

I have 2 leapster 2's for my children. I was looking into getting the charging station because the system was just sucking up the batteries so fast, even the rechargable batteries. I used the number the previous review mentioned thinking I would buy 1 recharging station and get like 3 extra batteries. That way each system would have one to use and a spare. After waiting on hold for over 20 minutes with customer service at leapfrog they have informed me that As of December 31st 2010 they no longer make the battery packs seperate from the recharging station. This obviously makes no sense. So you will need to now buy multiple recharging stations if you have more then 1 leapster 2. Not a very smart move on leapfrog. They did give me a 15% off code for their website 15leapfcs. I just wish they still had the batteries. Hope this helps.

Can't tell you how long I looked for one of these (at a reasonable price). Amazon pulled through for me-while I could never find it "cheap" enough for my taste, this was definitely reasonable. This is WELL WORTH the $$! We've had the Leapster for nearly two years now and I can't tell you how many times I've had to change batteries. If I'd realized how much the Leapster was going to suck the life out of batteries, I would have purchased this much sooner. The batteries don't just die while he's playing, but when he's not playing too - that's been very frustrating. My son can not only play with this battery pack "forever" before it needs to recharge, but if the game needs recharged while he's playing, I just connect it to the base and plug it in and he's able to play while it charges. The dock has a long enough cord (for our home) to sit comfortably in a chair and play while it's plugged in.
The only issue I have with it is that it is difficult to disconnect the base from the Leapster when it is done charging. I don't know if there's a trick for it or not, but I always feel like I may break something or lose my grip when the game and the base actually release. Fortunately, I'm not recharging all the time.
Happy Shopping!