Leapster or Leapster Lmax or V.Smile?

Updated on May 20, 2008
J.S. asks from Leesburg, VA
26 answers

Hello Moms!
Been looking at these hand held learning systems to purchase for my son's 4 year birthday. Wondering if anyone has input on whether we should purchase the Leapster, the Leapster Lmax or the V.Smile by vtech?
Thank you much!

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Featured Answers

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L.L.

answers from Norfolk on

We had a v-smile, and it broke within 5 months. My son was so disappointed and when i read reviews on it, they all said that they too had problems with the v-smile. We now have Leapster and love it. My daughter plays with it every day and it's wonderful for car rides!!!!

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A.C.

answers from Norfolk on

My kids have the Leapster and really enjoy it. I think it has some good things for a video game, but let's face it, it IS a video game, not a "hand held learning system." That being said, my kids do find it to be a lot of fun.

D.S.

answers from Allentown on

Hi J.,

Leapster or LeapsterLMax can be gotten on line at:

www.target.com

Amazon.com/toys

V.Smile can be gotten on line at:

www.VTechkids.com

www.eBay.com

Hope this helps. D.

More Answers

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C.B.

answers from Charlottesville on

We were given the Leapster TV two Christmases ago for my then 4 year old. She loved it and played with by herself so easily. This past Christmas we bought her the Leapster handheld unit so she would be able to use it other places besides in front of the tv. We didn't choose the L-Max because we already had the TV version. We have been very happy with it. Our 3 1/2 year old even liked 'playing' with it too.

We decided to get her a unit for her 4th birthday in April because there was starting to be some problems with sharing. We decided to go with the VTech Smile Pocket, so we would have two different units and two sets of fun games to enjoy and share between the two.

What a great investment! We love both units and have been receiving much enjoyment from them.

The other thing we did with both were to buy the battery charger packs. No need to stock up on AA batteries or continually recharge batteries. The charger packs are well woth their cost.

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R.A.

answers from Norfolk on

I'm not sure about the Leapster LMax but we love our Leapster. On the other hand for a 4 year old I might stick with the VSmile system that is not the pocket version. It is designed to be easy for the younger kids to use. It's a hard call, we actually have the Leapster and the VSmile and the Vsmile pocket and love all of them although if my ex hadn't bought my son a leapster we would have stuck with the vsmile pocket as you can use the same games in the pocket system as the regular system. Do any of your friends have them that he could try to see which is easier for him to use, as I think all of the games are great learning tools this would be the deciding factor for me.
R. A

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P.B.

answers from Washington DC on

My mom bought my two girls a leapster this past christmas. They love it! It actually seriously helps them learn to read and learn math skills and such. I do recommend it. I like the kids to play outside as much as possible and be active, but they don't need to be doing that 24/7 (its also helpful in the car or when you want quiet time, etc...), and if you are looking for something like it, I'd recommend the leapster.

Rebecca

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S.M.

answers from Richmond on

Hi, J.! We have both the Leapster and the VSmile (TV learning system). I like the Leapster because my son can take it with him, but the VSmile is nice because it hooks up to the television. There are advantages to both, but I lean to the Leapster - it's portable, and I've been able to find a wider variety of games. Hope this helps!
S. M.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.Z.

answers from Tampa on

Hi J.,

I looked at all of the reviews from different store websites when I was looking to buy a handheld for my children. I ended up with the Leapster L-max. The l-max can be plugged into the tv and the regular leapster can not be plugged into the tv to view on a larger screen. Leapster is also coming out with a new handheld this summer. You may want to wait and see what it is all about. Hope this helps.

L.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.F.

answers from Washington DC on

Hi J.!

My first question would be do you want something that your child can take in the car on long trips? If so, I would recommend the Leapster or Leapster L-Max. We have had both and LOVE THEM! I have 2 kids - my youngest has the Leapster and my older one has the L-Max. The L-Max you can plug into the TV and do the games on the TV whereas the regular Leapster you can't. I like that we can take these with us where ever we go!

I have a friend who has the V.Smile. Nice system but not portable. She did have problems with the controlers failing after 2 years. Not sure if she had a lemon or if this is normal.

Hope this helps!

S.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.W.

answers from Washington DC on

My 6 year old daughter had all 3 - she liked the LMAX the best. The games are pretty educational and fun at the same time. She still plays it some but has moved on to the Nintndo DS.

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J.M.

answers from Washington DC on

My son will be four in June and has had the handheld VSmile game for about 6 months now and loves it. He also has the VSmile regular game hooked up to the tv. I don't really like Leapster products because they pretty much stick with one age group (geared more for younger) and with VSmile the games go up in age. Hope this helps :)

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K.H.

answers from Dover on

We have the v-smile handheld and tv station. My girls love it. It is nice because you can always go and get new games as they get older, that are more appropriate for them. Not to mention they are educational, and have practically something for everyone. We purchased an adapter to plug the handheld into the wall while she plays it at home, otherwise it will take batteries if needed. We also purchased one that was purple that came with a disney princess game, so it was perfect for a little girl!
K.

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J.H.

answers from Washington DC on

My almost 5 year old daughter loves v-smile!! We use it almost everynight and it helped her when she was learning her numbers and the ABC's and there is alot to choose from when it comes to games.

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S.M.

answers from Norfolk on

We got a vsmile and it was horriable. It wasn't very easy to use fo rmy daughter who is 3, but an advanced 3. (she can unlock my computer figuring out my pass word that is 17 letters/numbers long and i have changed it 5 times). It was really lame, too. I was suprised with it being from Vtech. I returned it b/c the 4th time we tried to use it, it wouldn't work any more.

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H.M.

answers from Washington DC on

I would definitely recommend the Leapster/LMax. I don't know much about the VSmile, but it seems the games I've seen at Target/Walmart are on the younger end of the range.

My father bought my 2yo a Leapster for his birthday last year - we just got another one for my 4yo. They both enjoy playing with the Leapster, as well as their 9yo brother. There are plenty of games for all ages - I think they target up to 10yo so there's not just fun games (most of which still have some educational quality), but also targeted math and phonics games through elementary age.

There are also a LOT of Leapster/LMax games on ebay, so you can stack up on games less expensively that way.
Leapster vs LMax - that depends whether you'd ever put it on the TV. You can use both sets of games on the units - you don't need to use only LMax on the LMax, etc.

Does the VSmile have a headset? That's another important thing for us, esp. for travelling.

Good luck.

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T.R.

answers from Norfolk on

We bought the VSmile for our children for Christmas and it was great while it lasted. The key words are while it lasted. Three months after we bought it the thing stopped working. Luckily we were able to exchange it for a new one. Now 4 months after we got the new one, this one has also stopped working. Unfortunately we are past the 90 days for the it to be exchanged. Good luck with your selection.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.M.

answers from Washington DC on

Hi J.! I personally have enjoyed the V.Smile for my son who is now five. He's now outgrowing it a little, but he has definitely learned how to spell simple 3 letter words and some basic math skills as a result of playing some of the games. We did not have the handheld; however, we had the television system. Hope this helps.

Stacia

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

I agree. The vtech smile was wack. My mom bought it for my son for christmas, they sent two and both were broken.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.T.

answers from Norfolk on

Hi J. I just wanted to let you know i have all three of them and my son loves the leapster L-max better because you can connect it to the T.V. and it is lots of learning my son is in the first grade in a private school because i had him in a public school and the teacher said he was to far ahead of himself to be in this school so now he is happy where he is and those leapster's help him learn alot i like them better then playstation and nintendo so take it from a mom it is great.

T. from Norfolk

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.H.

answers from Richmond on

Hi J.! We have the Leapster and the V.Smile and my 5 year old loves them both, especially the Leapster. It's great for the car or when waiting for her brothers soccer practice to end! She's had it since she was 4 and their are lots of games for that age range. Have fun!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.H.

answers from Washington DC on

I we have all three. Go with the Leapster LMax. It plays Leapster and Leapster LMax games. The LMax is better than the V.Smile because you can take it with you! AND you can plug it into the TV. My kids rarely play with the V.Smile but play with the LMax all of the time. Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.S.

answers from Washington DC on

I went on the Target and TRU sites to see what ratings all of these systems had before I purchased them. The Leapster had the highest ratings. It's educational and fun - I've played a couple of times myself. My oldest (6)still loves his Leapster and my youngest (3) tries to take it. So you know what's under the tree for Christmas this year. Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.C.

answers from Norfolk on

Love, love, love our Leapsters. Both my boys have one. The games are great and the graphics are good. I like the fact that all the games are fun and educational. We have the regular leapster (my 4yo got when he was 3) and an L-max which you can plug into the tv. They are both really durable. We take them everywhere (dr. appts, vacations, car trips, etc.). I've only looked at the vtech stuff at the store and I wasn't impressed. You can't go wrong with Leap Frog Products. We've had too many to mention over the years and liked them so much we've bought them for friends kids all the time. Good luck.

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K.S.

answers from Washington DC on

We have all three. My oldest son got the Lmax for Christmas when he was three. I ended up getting a used leapster for his little brother too. We have a Vsmile too, but they play with the leapsters alot more. All the leapster games work in both models too.

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T.H.

answers from Norfolk on

i would look at the games. i have v smile and they seem so childish to me i think leapster might grow with a child better but i dont know about their 4 year old games.

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K.H.

answers from Norfolk on

Hi J.,

We had the vsmile both the handheld version and the one that hooks up to the tv and with a couple of months of owning both they broke. I would not recommend purchasing the vsmile. I have heard good things about the leapster and I have been considering purchasing one for my youngest who will be 3 this summer plus I have always like all of the other products that i have gotten from Leap frog. Hope this helps.

K.

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