Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The new LeapPad Ultimate has exactly the same hardware specs as their previous LeapPad Platinum tablet. So if you already have the the LeapPad Platinum or Epic then this would not be a worthy upgrade. In terms of deciding between the Ultimate or Platinum, the Ultimate would make the better value for money option with more digital content preloaded and exactly the same hardware specs as the Platinum( The only additional feature of the Platinum is its included Imagicards which add nice physical card to digital interaction type games). For first time buyers the LeapFrog Ultimate is a great first kids tablet to introduce to kids if you dont want to deal with the fuss of carefully handpicking and curating content and determine what is appropriate for your kids age group HARDWARE This is an area that I am going be most critical of this tablet, mainly because we are sort of spoiled after years of using the latest Samsung phones, Ipads etc that we've come to expect impeccable build quality and blazing performance as 'normal'. Hence you can take my adult-bias here with a grain of salt : - The tablet is built sturdy alright with thick, easy-to-hold plastic construction and a rubber bumper running across its corners - The touchscreen has good sensitivity and brightness but where it falls short is its viewing angles as colors wash out quickly when the tablet is tilted. The screen resolution, while not HD, is good for a kids tablet with 1024 X 600 ( 171 ppi). This is the resolution as the Kindle 7' Kids Tablet but the Kindle has better IPS display panel - The plastic-like screen scratches very easily, I *highly* recommend getting a screen protector - Processor performance is slow with long delays in turning the tablet on , opening apps or going to the home screen (See my video). It might be tolerable of your kid hasn't used an Ipad or Android tablet before ..but otherwise it is going to be noticeable - The speaker is not that strong but ok for daily use in a quiet place. The physical volume controls on the other hand are very flimsy and difficult to operate - Has 8GB onboard storage which 3.3GB available to you out of the box with all its pre-loaded content. It supports plug in cartridges for getting new apps/content - WiFi supports 2.4Ghz band only and has decent/stable performance - Potato quality front & rear cameras SOFTWARE CONTENT - Despite my not so subtle disdain for its hardware , The software content is really the redeeming quality of this tablet with first rate content with learning 'pathways' as your child grows from ages 3 to 8 - Each app modifies itself depending upon the learning level your kid is at. A great example of this is the reading app which focuses on introducing new works at the Pre-K level (our son's age) - In terms of pre-loaded content you have the following on the tablet: 1) Pet ( A virtual pet game app with mini sub-games like Fruit Ninja) 2) Pet Chat (Kid friendly chat app to use with other LeapPad tablets) 3) LeapSearch (Kid friendly browser with only handpicked content under categories like Fun, Science etc) 4) App Store 5) Sneek Preview ( Advertising app for their content) 6) Welcome How to use Video 7) Photofun (Photo editing app) 8) Music App with pre-loaded rhymes and songs 9) Video App ( with a pre-loaded leapfrog educational cartoon) 10) Ultrabook (A very nice interactive/animated reading app) 11) 2 Full games 12) 4 Utility apps ( Kids calendar, Microphone, Notes, kids clock) 13) 5 Learning app demos (writing , reading , science etc) 14) Flash Cards App - Please note that apart from the above I could not find any free apps in their app store so you'll have to purchase content to add more apps which costs about $10 on average for an app which can be expensive - Pre-loaded content and games can be used offline without WiFi connected FINAL THOUGHTS Overall the biggest thing to consider while buying into the LeapFrog ecosystem is that on one hand you don't have to worry about content because everything has been handpicked already which adapts itself according to your kids age and on the other hand you have middling hardware, expensive content and a tablet that you yourself cannot use (like a multi-purpose tablet that both parents & kids share). Other than that the LeapPad Ultimate is a great first learning tablet for kids that will have them caught up on reading, math , science in a fun and engaging manner right from ages 3 through 8 with top-class content. And for that alone it is worth 4 stars