Hand Helds for PreSchl & K ages (MobiGo, Leapster, something else)

[ha98ed14]

Does anyone have any opinions on these? DD loves to play with them at Target, where they are mounted right at kid-level. I have told her no, and I have no intention of buying one, but if my mom asked what she wanted for her birthday, it might be a possibility. But I know nothing about any of these products. Anyone?

Also, how does this compare to the Nintendo DS handheld?

Are all the systems useless unless you buy games for them? Can you download stuff off the web for them?

[ciw]

I won't be of much help but I will be watching this thread. My DS is younger than your DD, I think (he just turned 3). I have a Leapster Explorer in the gift closet b/c I found one at a great price. But I'm guessing he won't be ready for it until Christmas at the earliest and by then the Leapfrog LeapPad will be out. So now I am wondering if I should CL the Explorer and then buy the LeapPad whenever he's finally ready for it.

[egoldber]

She's too young for a DS. Most of those games also require at least some amount of reading and the controls are not that intuitive.

My older DD had a Leapster (the original) and when she got a DS, her Leapster became younger DD's. Honestly, neither the DS nor the Leapster gets the love that our old iPhones get. They are smaller, lighter and far more intuitive to play. And the games are mostly free or very, very cheap ($3 or less).

But older DD did love her Leapster for a long time. The problem is the games are not that cheap and if you only have 1 or 2 games it is not that fun (IMO).

ETA: Older DD is a "gamer" and she did not really "get" how to play the Leapster until she was 4. I would think about holding off until Christmas.

[Melaine]

I haven't heard of the LeapPad....

My kids both have the Leapster original and they like them. They each have two games and that is enough to occupy them at this age. They haven't really gotten into gaming or seen other kids with DS games or Ipod Touch though, so I guess it's just cool enough for us for now!

ETA: OP, even though my children have Leapsters, they still gravitate toward those child-level mounted games at Target...those displays really suck them in!

[vonfirmath]

She's too young for a DS. Most of those games also require at least some amount of reading and the controls are not that intuitive.

My older DD had a Leapster (the original) and when she got a DS, her Leapster became younger DD's. Honestly, neither the DS nor the Leapster gets the love that our old iPhones get. They are smaller, lighter and far more intuitive to play. And the games are mostly free or very, very cheap ($3 or less).

But older DD did love her Leapster for a long time. The problem is the games are not that cheap and if you only have 1 or 2 games it is not that fun (IMO).

ETA: Older DD is a "gamer" and she did not really "get" how to play the Leapster until she was 4. I would think about holding off until Christmas.

My son is 3.5 and has been playing, and enjoying his Leapster since Christmas. He has a total of 3 games and mostly plays with two of them --Pet Pals and Go Diego Go with no sign of being bored yet

[94bruin]

DD1 got a Leapster for her birthday around age 3. We didn't bring it out for a few months; when we finally broke it out, it was more just pushing buttons, tapping the screen vs real playing. We only had one game for the longest time (like 2 years.) It worked well for her because it's only a car toy, so she really doesn't get that much playing time.

We only bought our second game last October for a plane ride.

The only issue is that DD2 loves the leapster as well. They fight over who will get it once they get in the car. I've thought about getting a second one, but have an old LeapPad that sometimes works as a replacement (but isn't nearly as interactive as the Leapster.)

We have Pet Pals & Kindergarten. Actually, there is a third "game" and that is just the plain Leapster with no cartridge. They have ads for their other games -sort of like short videos. My kids like to watch them because they feature familiar characters (and no, they haven't asked for those other games.)