New Bigger Leapfrog Tag Reading System

Sunday, October 18th, 2009 at 10:32 am

When Leapfrog introduced the Tag Reading system last year it was an instant hit with kids, parents and critics, winning a number of awards for Toy Of The Year. Yet one of the main complaints parents particularly had with the system was the storage capacity limitations.

Unlike the Leappad, Leapfrog’s previous reading system which used a book/cartridge system, the Tag reader stores the audio component of the interactive book inside the physical reader.

That is when a Leapfrog Tag book is purchased, the parent must login to Leapfrog online and download a file to the reader via USB. Once the file is downloaded the reader will then interact with that particular book.

The main issue has been that there is only a limited amount of memory in the pen reader and so only 5 books can be used at any one time.

If the child has more than 5 books then one must be removed from the system and replaced with another one, rendering the replaced title basically useless until another title is removed again.

This can pose a problem particularly if the system is being used by more than one child at different age and interest levels. So it is with great relief that Leapfrog has listened to these criticisms and introduced a Tag reader with double the initial storage capacity.

The 32 Mb version of the Tag reader is now available in the standard pink and green variations and the new system stores up to 10 books at a time. It also comes with The Cat In The Hat as a standard book instead of the previous system which came with a highly enjoyable but rather obscure title Ozzie and Mack.

Another cool factor for those new to the system is that the price has remained the same for the updated version $49.99 US.

While it would have been wonderful to see an external storage system such as an SD card slot so parents could manage their own books without having to repeatedly download the same files, this update is a viable option for those who find the 5 book storage system is not enough.

The newly improved Tag reader is an even better way to help kids become interested in reading, develop their vocabulary and, like the Leap pad before it, will remain a popular interactive learning toy for many years.

The pink and green 32Mb Leap Frog Tag Reading Systems are now available at Amazon at reduced prices. Or you can check out the latest live auctions below on ebay.