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Anyone whose kids (5-9) use a LeapPad, InnoTab or KindleFire?

10 replies

WhoMovedMyCheeseToast · 05/11/2011 11:16

I have looked at what's alredy on this site re: the above, but am still wondering: Which one do I buy for my (year 1/age 5) DS?

I like the durability of the LeapPad (£99) and InnoTab (£79), but have found in the past that electronic games and toys from these makers can be a bit too pre-school for DS, and we want whatever we get him to be a learning support and tool for several years to come (or at least two!). I don't want to go by the mfr's suggested age, because of our past experiences. (I put it down to the fact that they are developed in the U.S., where kids start school a full year later...)

You may think the Kindle Fire is an extravagance, but at $199 it's not THAT much more (given exchange rate) and my mum can bring one over for me from the U.S. (and I'm assuming it's dual voltage -- i.e. we can charge it up here...) Lots of my friends back in the States a getting them for their (admittedly, older) children. But I wonder about durability and whether a 5-yr-old can really find his way around on it, and also what sort of learning apps are available on it to match the primary curriculum. As Amazon is still only taking pre-orders, it's hard to know.

SO, my plan is probably to get a LeapPad or InnoTab and hold off on the fire until he is 7. Which brings me back to to my origina question: Are they too juvenile for a 5-7 year old boy who can read and do sums and is into Star Wars, not Toy Story?

Help!? Must order soon...

OP posts:
WhoMovedMyCheeseToast · 05/11/2011 11:40

bumping this up, hoping for some advice?

OP posts:
RedRumElmosMum · 05/11/2011 12:17

DD (5yrs) is getting the InnoTab this year for xmas . It's aged up to 9yrs old so should have a few years of fun out of it. Smile

TheFidgetySheep · 05/11/2011 12:20

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LeninGrad · 05/11/2011 12:24

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LeninGrad · 05/11/2011 12:26

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WhoMovedMyCheeseToast · 05/11/2011 13:25

LeninGrad, that's exactly my reasoning. When are you getting it next week? I would love to hear what you think. did you buy any extra games/programs? It is backward compatible with all the explorer cartridges. Do you know if it comes with a battery charger? (I'm thinking of having my mum get it in the States and bring it over, but worried we can't re-charge it here due to voltage differences...)

OP posts:
LeninGrad · 05/11/2011 13:31

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LeninGrad · 07/11/2011 12:44

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WhoMovedMyCheeseToast · 11/11/2011 22:18

@Leningrad: what do you think of it

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pimmsgalore · 17/11/2011 15:56

We got an leappad, it looks pretty good, the camera and video are cool. My brother is setting it up and hiding it before christmas, he is a techno geek and is pretty impressed. I think my 4 year old may have competition from the 11,9 &7 year olds for possession on Christmas day

If you go with the kindle fire you do understand that you will have to use the amazon.com account to get all the apps etc and you may have issues with the fact that it will recognise your isp as non US. Just saying, several friends of ours are US service personnel in Europe and they can only get them and update them properly when back in the US (it's to do with the licences) we had similar issues when in the US and buying psp's for DCs ended up with the ones that take UMD as the psp go would not have worked when we got back the the UK, similar reason to why we have 2 Wii's 1 UK and 1 US Grin

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