LeapFrog® Tag Reading System (16 MB)
by LeapFrog
|
List Price: Category: Toy See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Toys and Games Reviews of LeapFrog® Tag Reading System (16 MB)
Customer Review: Had I known....
Summary: 2 Stars
After seeing a neighbor's LeapPad, and wanting to get my just-turned-5-year-old more into letters and words, I did some research and got him a Tag Reader. Wish I'd gotten a used LeapPad instead. Did not realize just how dependent on downloading this product is until I bought the first add-on book and found, only after opening the package, that downloading is required to use the book I had just made a trip to the store to acquire. Now I had to find time to go online to make it useable too? I'm plenty internet savvy and no Luddite, but with two small kids I do not appreciate having to go online as often as it is now apparent I will have to with this product. (I know, I know, I could have found this all out ahead of time with more research. But I didn't invest the time, OK?, and the packaging does not at all make the computer dependency obvious.) Had I known this I would definitely have looked for a good used LeapPad instead, with its self-contained books and tethered (i.e. harder to lose) optical pen. And just how durable is the Tag's pen, anyway? What happens when my two-year-old gets ahold of it and throws it tip-first into the floor? Parents of preschoolers, look for a good used LeapPad instead, they're plentiful on Ebay.Customer Review: A step up from leappad, but has limitations.
Summary: 3 Stars
The Tag reading system is definitely a step up from the Leappad in terms of playability. However, it has its limitations.
- Unlike the Leapster where multiple users can share each device, each Tag is for a single user (player profile). LeapFrog highly recommends each child have his/her own Tag reader in order to take full advantage of Tag. Therefore, sharing doesn't work and means more $$$$ spent.
- Using a Tag reader on multiple computers might be cumbersome. I haven't found a way to "migrate" data easily, for example, in case of OS or PC upgrades. This affects the Rewards and the LEAPFROG Learning Path.
- Can only store 5 audio books at a time on the Reader. So if your child wants a different book besides one of the five, you'll have to connect to the computer to download/manage it. This will make it difficult for long trips. Memory is cheap, why not have more memory to begin with?
- Must connect to the internet, but then, who doesn't have internet access these days.
Some nice points.
- Has a headphone jack!
- USB connectivity was pretty easy, but did seem a bit slow.
- Reader worked fine.
Customer Review: Amazing Learning Tool For Children
Summary: 5 Stars
My 4 year old daughter recently got the 'LeapFrog Tag Reading System' and I feel that it is one of the best educational things I have ever seen. The concept is simple enough, there are special books designed to work with the Leapfrog Tag pen and using this device your child can learn to identify words and be able to read on their own. The technology is based off of an infrared camera built into the pen that looks for little micro dots built into the books themselves. There is a speaker built into the pen that will let the little ones read pages, individual words, play games or just click the pictures of the characters they see.
While the pen should never replace reading books to your children, this amazing device is a great companion tool for your child to expand their skills and learn to read better and faster than ever before. My daughter loves her Leapfrog Tag and while some people may call this a gimmick or a lazy solution for the parents I don't believe this is that at all. Kids need time to work on reading for themselves and that is exactly what this device does for them.
Wonderful tool and a five star grade to say the least!!!
***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION
Customer Review: TERRIBLE to set up, or load new books
Summary: 3 Stars
The Tag and Tag Junior BOTH are terrible to work with; to load books initially and to update. The website is very slow to download, but the Tag and Tag Junior are even worse. Even on brand new batteries, they routinely auto time out and shutdown before the website is done checking them to allow you to start downloading a new book. Tag Junior only holds 4-6 books, so it is not long before the kids want to change what is on there and you get to do the frustrating process all over again! (Set aside a couple of hours) We had some paperwork that said they were cross compatible or at least that the older child's Tag would read the younger Tag Junior - this is NOT true! The software will not allow you to load files, Tag to Tag Junior or from Tag Junior to Tag! We have banned grandma from buying any new books! UPDATE: I am now slightly more happy. The new software on the website NOW allows Tag to load Tag Junior books as claimed. If you try different USB ports you may find one that works better. None of my other USB devices have any problems with ANY of my USB ports, but for some reason Tag and Tag Junior are sensitive to which one I use (I have 12 USB ports to choose from). Updated from 1 star to now 3 stars.Customer Review: Makes Reading Fun!
Summary: 4 Stars
We've had the Tag reader for about one month now, and my son(just turned 3) still asks to use this daily. My favorite part is that it is interactive. You can have the reader tell you individual words, you can have it read the entire paragraph using different character's voices, and you can play games such as matching rhyming words or answering quizzes. My son goes back and forth between these functions, and will happily "read" during our 30 minute commute every day. When we're at home, it's a great toy for us to use together during story time.
The main drawback for me is that when my son holds the "pen" comfortably, his hand goes over the control buttons. This may be because he just turned 3, and perhaps older children hold the pen differently, but he frequently turns the pen on/off or adjusts the volume or mode of use while he is navigating around the book. The controls are on the widest part of the pen where it makes sense to hold it, and any squeezing pressure hits the buttons.
I'm also hoping over time that they expand the library - with only about 20 titles total, some princess related and some obviously more boy-interest centered, we're running out of new stories to read with Tag.