I purchased two of these units for my kids (age 3 and 5) for Christmas and have played around with it a bit to get it set up. The primary reason I chose the Innotab over the Leapfrog tablet is because of the ability to add music/videos and the expandable memory. My observations so far:
*Photos- I like the ability to add photos. I am very irritated that I cannot remove the pre-loaded photos. What on earth made Vtech think we would want to look at photos of strangers?! Push out an update so these can be removed!!
*Color and Pop-My daughter is very artistic so I really anticipated she would enjoy this function. However, with 8 preloaded color pages (that are all similar) she will be over this in 1 day. I sincerely hope there will be the ability to download more color pages in the future.
*EReader- Turning the pages on this was very clunky. I have had an ereader for several years so I am familiar with the "swipe" motion and I had to try to turn the page at least 3 times each time. When you try to swipe in the upper right corner the book thinks you want to hear the page again. I had to swipe in the lower right corner to get it to work right. I am worried my kids will get frustrated if they have trouble turning pages and won't use it. I was getting frustrated. Suggestion: add a specific place to hit on the screen to turn the page as an option for kids who are challenged by this.
*Music-I was able to load music with no problem and I think the kids will like this.
*Videos- Showing as under construction in the leaning lab, which is annoying. Vtech get it together and make sure everything is ready at launch! However, I am pretty sure I could side load these, but I need to get a larger expansion card.
*Durability-overall pretty kid proof, but the kick stand will get broken off in no time.
*Size-size is appropriate for young kids although the screen could have been a little bigger. An extra two inches would have made a HUGE difference!
*Charging-My kids haven't played with it yet, but based on the other reviews, I will be starting off with rechargeable batteries. Not happy that a wall charger wasn't included.
*Downloadable games are pretty reasonably priced, but the selection is poor. I am hoping more comes out before Christmas so I put some more stuff on here.
*Age range-At 3 and 5 my kids are at the perfect age for this. My 5 year old already has a computer in her room and loves computer games. My 3 year old is just starting. No way would a 9 year old find this interesting unless they have had little to no exposure to technology. I would put 7 at max age.
*As a kids ipad- This is a toy folks, and not even remotely close to an ipad. If you or your kids are looking for a "real" tablet, then you will be disappointed in this. Whether or not your kids will enjoy this depends largely are the level of exposure they have had to technology. If they have been playing with your ipad and like it, then they will probably not be too impressed with this. We do not let our kids play with our phones or in my case, Nook color so I think they will like it. My daughter at 5.5 years old, will probably not be interested in this for a long period of time (guessing a year, but hoping for longer), but I think it is a great "introduction" to tablet like functionality. My husband is a computer technician so my daughter has been playing on the computer for quite a while.
Overall it seems like a decent toy, but it definitely could have been better. I understand the push to get it out before Christmas, but if the apps aren't available, things are still under construction, and little things need to be addressed you are hurting more than helping your situation. I am shocked that the things reviewers here have identified were not identified during the testing stage. Who was testing this thing? I am crossing my fingers that the most annoying things (unable to remove standard photos, difficulty in swiping pages in ereader) will be fixed soon with an update. I know it can be done. Please put it at the top of your list Vtech!
I don't regret buying this because the expandable memory and ability to load videos is huge for me. I will update my review after the kids have played with it.
*********************************************PURCHASED LEAPFROG TABLET TO COMPARE 10/29/11
Initially I had gone back and forth between the Vtech and Leapfrog tablets before I settled on Vtech. So just to make sure I am making the right decision, I decided to buy a Leapfrog tablet to test it out. My thoughts:
*Design-I definitely prefer the design of the leapfrog tablet. The screen is the same size, but it is more compact for little hands. The Leapfrog tablet also feels more solid, but only time will tell which stands the test of time.
*Picture-The resolution on the leapfrog seems much better to me, but that isn't saying much. The picture was sharper and crisper on the Leapfrog.
*Speed-Both of these are WAY slower than they should be considering the technology available. Of the two, I felt the transitions on the Leapfrog were slower. I actually thought it had frozen for a second when the screen went blank before it opened what I selected (this happened more than once). Side note, at one point the Leapfrog tablet did freeze and I had to turn it off and on. That did not inspire confidence since wasn't even pressing "wrong" buttons, which I know my kids will do.
*Downloadable Content-Both products have pretty disappointing downloadable content. The selection is just pathetic. Since I was only testing, I didn't actually purchase any downloads on the Leapfrog tablet, but Leapfrog did seem to have more variety and what they did have, appeared a little more polished (just looking at the demos). Although I will say that it appears Vtech has added some content since I see options there that I didn't see when I first purchased (keep it coming Vtech-we are desperate!). The prices for Leapfrog tablet content are much higher than Vtech ($7.5-$20 vs. $2.99)and that was a real negative for me. Kids get bored fast I do not want to set myself up for downloading much at Leapfrog prices!
*Cartridges-They are about the same price for both ($20-$25), but the Vtech cartridges are a much better value. I tested the Disney Princess cartridge for Vtech and it had 2 ebooks, a "make your own book" game that was pretty neat, three other games, and a app that let you make custom princess frames for the photos you have loaded. I felt like it was a decent value at $24. Then I looked at the leapfrog tablet game Pixar Pals. What a let down after the Vtech cartridge! There was no ebook and three really cheesy games. I didn't like any of them and I doubt they would keep my kids attention. You definitely get more bang for your buck with the Vtech cartridge.
*Standard content- Both products have e-reader functionality (Vtech gives one free book, leapfrog none) and an art app. Vetch also has Calendar, calculator, stopwatch, friend list, MP3 player, video player. Leapfrog has a camera, video camera, and standard pet pad app that I really did like a lot. I wish Vtech had a similar app.
*Overall cost-Owning either one of these products is going to be expensive. The cost of the tablet is just the beginning. You will have to buy cartridges and apps. Keeping that in mind, Vtech is a much better value overall. The cartridges just come with so much more and the apps are much less expensive. I can deal with buying the occasional $2.99 app.
FINAL VERDICT-VETCH
We have always been a primarily Leapfrog family, although we have had a few Vtech products over the years. In the end you need to look at both products and see which is best for you. I don't think either is significantly better than the other. For me it came down to value for my money, with the MP3 and video players tipping the scales to Vtech. Not that I want my kids looking at movies on it all day, but that would be helpful for outings and traveling.