Mobigo vs. Leapster (Explorer)

Pesky

I remember this being discussed before and naturally did not tag the threads.  But looking at potentially getting one of these for my 4YO DD for Christmas.  She has used the Leapster at preschool a bit so is somewhat familiar with that but really like the idea of the QWERTY keyboard with the Mobigo.  Pros and cons, anyone?  TIA!

ETA:  And I will also add in the Vtech innotab and the Leapfrog LeapPad as well, which until below, didn't know existed.  Yeah, I'm behind the times.

mbritto4

My DD got the Mobigo for Christmas last year and still loves it. She uses both the controls by the screen and the keyboard. The games have 2 levels of difficulty so if she beats it on easy she can challenge herself. I've not played with the other system to be able to compare.

AndiG

We are getting my son the Mobigo for his upcoming birthday (he'll be 4).  My DH picked it over the Leapster, not really sure why but I think he liked the keyboard.

Also, the new gaming systems for this year - the LeapPad and I think Vtech has one too - seemed a bit over my DS's head.  I think he'd get the games, but not the advanced features.  Not that you asked about those...

Pesky

AndiG:

We are getting my son the Mobigo for his upcoming birthday (he'll be 4).  My DH picked it over the Leapster, not really sure why but I think he liked the keyboard.

Also, the new gaming systems for this year - the LeapPad and I think Vtech has one too - seemed a bit over my DS's head.  I think he'd get the games, but not the advanced features.  Not that you asked about those...

Oh, man, I don't know if I can factor in new technology.  I've held out so long on that front.

allieoop80

My son turned 3 this weekend and got the leap pad for his birthday.  He has caught on pretty quickly and loves it.  Its like an ipad for kids.  You can either touch the screen with your finger or use the stylus.  He was a pro with our phones and grandparents ipad before.  The apps (ebooks, videos, games) to download run from 7.50 to 10 dollars and the explorer cartridge games you can buy separately are around 20.  I haven't figured out what the difference is between the two yet.  It comes with a few games already on it.  I can tell it will be something he will use for a while because he is not old enough for some parts yet.

mabma80

DS1 just got the Leapster Explorer for his birthday (two wks ago) and he plays with it everyday!  We later bought one for DS2, because they would fight over it, and he is learning how to play on it from DS1.  He's learned a lot from it too!

I really didn't do a whole lot of research.  I had DS1 play with my nephews Leapster to see how he would do.  I also like that it has a camera attachement we can get later.  Also, the charging station you can get, is a big help on saving batteries!

TinyPinkBug

I researched them last Christmas and chose the Explorer, of course I now can't remember why.  We have been very happy with our Leapfrog products, specifically the Explorer and the Tag Readers.  My sister got my 4 yr old a Nintendo DS for his birthday but he much rather play his Explorer.  I am a little disapointed in some of the games, only that my DS was able to complete a writing game for 5-7 yr olds within 2 weeks of having it when he was only 3.  For this Christmas, we are going to do the LeapPad for him.  I briefly looked at the Innotab by V-Tech but then realized I could use the same software for our Explorer and the Leap Pad so the Leap Pad just makes sense.