Customer Reviews
Great and then some... 
2007-06-26
We originally bought this for our son when he was 18 months. At that time, we would not let him use it himself, or he'd rip the books. Plus he didn't really know how to manipulate the pen. When he was about 2 1/2, he really got the hang of it. Now that he's 3, he loves it. One of his favorite books is "Hit It Maestro!" He loves the classical music. He manages the books geared towards 4-6 year olds and can handle the games. His 18 month sister likes to sit with him and watch him work the books, so we're figuring she'll be ready even earlier than he.
I just found out a bonus today. We currently live in Germany and have the American system. According to LeapFrog's website, we can only use American cartridges. WRONG! I bought a German system and German books so we could practice our basic German more, together. For giggles, before I opened the German system, I tried a German book and cartridge with our American system and it worked perfectly! I'm returning the German system and buying more German books tomorrow. That gave it an extra star in my book. I can now stock up on the German books for when we return to the States and not worry about a system. I'm even looking at picking up some French books from the French Amazon while we're here now.
The only complaint I have with it, is it sometimes glitches and doesn't read cartridges. You blow on them in case of dust and particles, but it still glitches. Yet when I try again 20 minutes later, it's fine. So there must be a short somewhere. Oh well, 99% of the time it works wonderfully.
Leappad 2007-03-09
This is a great educational toy. Very easy to use and fun! Our child has autism which was not know at that time and he finds less interest in it at the age of 3 than most children probably would!
too expensive and easily malfunctions 
2006-12-12
Tried My First Leappad and later, Leapster. Both stopped working after a few months - - even after new batteries inserted. Kept saying things like "wrong cartridge" when we had inserted correct one. ALso, it often gave information for a different page from the one we were using. I'm not sure why this is considered more educational than using a writing pad and pencil or just plain old reading! Needs an adult's help anyway. My child is very bright but found the whole thing frustrating (trying to insert cartridges, having incorrect vocals come out from the microphone etc etc). Other owners have said the same thing.
All 3 have been defective 
2006-11-17
I must say that we have My First Leappad and the original Leappad and love them so this came as a serious disappointment. And worse, all the units stopped working after the warranty ran out and I had purchased 5-6 books that only work on the Writing with Microphone. I have replaced the pens too (at a ridiculous shipping cost from the mfg.) but no change. The company knows this is a bad product but refuses to recall it. If I didn't know that a settlement would just end up in lawyer's pockets, I would consider joining a class action lawsuit (see reviews for the Leappad plus writing).... Shame on you Leappad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LeapPad Plus Writing and Microphone Upgrade Kit 2005-12-04
I'd rate this 10 stars's if I could. I bought this for my Grt Nephew a few years ago. He's just started Kindergarten this year. He loves it! He does his "homework" , as he calls it, every day and has since he received it. Whenever they go on a trip, his Leap Pad goes with him and keeps him occupied for hours in the car. I added the microphone last year and that too is loved with no problems. His soon to be 3 yr old sister is always wanting to use his system and their mother reports, when he lets her, does pretty well with it. This year I'm buying her her own- the new one, Leap Pad Plus Writing and Microphone, as well as the storage case and backpack, which her brother already has. Best gifts I've ever given and I keep adding to the library every year. I figure about the time he's ready to move up to the Quantum System, the baby will be ready to take over his Leap Pad Plus Writing. If you treat your Leap
Pad Systems and the books with the respect and care they deserve, they'll last for years.
Good Educational toy 
2005-11-26
The LeapPad Learning System teaches basic skills to children in an interactive and exciting new way. Stories will suddenly come to life, with the light tap of the Magic Pen. Young readers will have a blast as they practice basic reading and writing skills. With the microphone, kids can record their voice and hear it played back as part of the story. The interactive nature of the LeapPad keeps them entertained while they learn. Includes 2 early learning books.
Definitely not worth the money 2005-09-18
We bought the LeapPad Plus Writing and Microphone for our 4-year-old's birthday. We had read other reviews and thought it would be a great purchase. We were wrong! Here are the many ineffective, poorly designed problems with this. First, and most irritating, it comes with flimsy, paperback books that are impossible for a child to use the provided eraser to erase everything they write with the actual lead pencil. It ends up with a mess and the cheap paperback book tears easily from the rings when you try to erase not to mention the lack of durability after erasing the same page several times. Secondly, and almost as irritating, when you turn the page you are supposed to push the "Go" circle with the pencil yet it inevitably starts giving instructions for a different page since the alignment is rarely on track. The microphone has yet to work correctly and the instructions don't explain what we should be doing. We thought he could use it on the plane but the volume wouldn't turn up enough to even hear it. The cartridges are all the same color so it's hard to find the right one that goes with each book. And, of course, there was no money back guarantee so we could return it once we bought it...so we're stuck with this ineffective, cheap (although not that "cheap")learning device. Please don't make the same mistake we made by having high expectations of this product.
3 yr old son loves it! 2005-08-07
We got this for our 3 year old son and he just loves it. It's easy to use, so he picked up on it very quickly. Would recommend this to others.
Super Learning Toy 2005-07-28
I recently purchased this for my grandson's 6th birthday. He absolutely loves it and his mother says he is doing well with it. It is the perfect tool for a child his age. He has had some difficulty with his letters and this is a real help. It makes learning a fun activity rather than a chore.
This is the BEST Leap Pad YET!!! 2005-07-23
I just purchased this Leap Pad for my 4 year old son. We have 2 other leap pad systems, the My first leap pad and the original leap pad system. When I previously bought those systems for my son he was'nt ready to learn to write. Now however, he is old enough for this system and after a lot of attempts to get him to practice letters and practice writing his name I could'nt get him to really pay attention to me to write his letters, he would get bored and be ready to quit trying. I then decided on getting the Leap Pad System Plus Writing.
When I went to purchase it, I saw the Leap Pad Plus Writing Plus Microphone System that also included 2 books. I could'nt find a price, so I picked it up and put it in the cart to see how much it cost, to my great surprise it was the same amount of money as the Leap Plus Writing. (I don't think any other store carries the Leap Pad Writing and Microphone system except Toys R Us) So I was even more pleased that it had an additional feature of the microphone.
When I got home and opened it up for my son to start writing and playing with it, I was really surprised at how easy it was for him to hold the pencil stylus and he quickly traced the letters on the pages almost flawlessly! He loved it, he loved how the letters made sounds, for instance the letter I will say I-I-I-ICKY as you trace over it. He laughs each time a letter talks as he is tracing over them. Then we began playing with the microphone feature I never dreamed how much enjoyment he'd get out of this feature! It is a huge plus to have the microphone! One of the starter books that came with it has several pages that you can use the microphone on it, there is one page that you make a car sound and it uses your voice to sound like its starting the car on the page. Its really funny to get the sounds on the page with my son's voice. He laughs and giggles and it keeps him occupied for at least an hour at a time! Learning letters and learning to write has never been more fun until we bought this system. It is a WONDERFUL system and I can't say enough good things about it. If you are thinking of getting a leap pad for your child, go with the writing and microphone. If you think your child is not old enough yet for the writing feature, just take out the lead in the pencil. Another really great thing about the leap pad writing system, if you purchase any of the leap pad writing books they come with a new pencil with lead.
Another thing about this system, its more compact than the original leap pad, its very sturdy and it also comes with an eraser storage pocket and an eraser for the writing books. I figured the pencil would have an eraser on the end of it, but they don't instead they made a big eraser, easier for smaller kids to erase off their pages to re use them or to correct thier mistakes and a handy storage pocket to keep your eraser handy at all times.
Another thing I noticed about the system is the pencil stylus stays put once its snapped in the system, the other leap pads we have the stylus is hard to get to stay. They made this leap pad very durable and I agree with another reviewer- this is the "cadallic of all leap pads!"
This system is worth every penny I paid for it. My 4 year old is already mastering writing words and has learned to spell several new words because of this system. I am so pleased with this leap pad, I would highly reccommend it!!!
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, 2005. The Best Toys, Books, Videos, Music & Software for Kids