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.