 | This article needs to be updated.(June 2015) |
 A LeapPad | |
| Developer | Explore Technologies |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | LeapFrog Enterprises |
| Type | Series of tablet computers |
| Release date | 1999 |
The LeapPad is a range of tablet computers developed for children, specifically of the ages 3-9. Various models of the LeapPad have been developed by LeapFrog Enterprises since 1999.
The device, resembling a talking book, took 3 years to develop and was introduced to the market in 1999. In 2001 (sales $160 million) and 2002 it was the best-selling toy in speciality stores. Sales in 2003 reached $680 million and were only eclipsed by sales of the book and cartridge add-ons. LeapStart is in red, Leap 1 is in orange, Leap 2 is in blue, and Leap 3 is in green.
LeapPad was invented by Jim Marggraff [1] and developed by a team from Explore Technologies, Inc., which was founded by Marggraff and was acquired by LeapFrog in July 1998. It uses the same patented "NearTouch" technology developed for the Explore Technologies Odyssey Atlasphere. Investigation and development was started in December 1997.
Throughout the years, the LeapPad began getting more advanced and more similar to that of an iPad. The LeapPad Explorer sub-series of tablet-computers were the first LeapPads to introduce a touch capacitive display to the lineup.
Various models of the LeapPad were developed between its launch in 1999 and 2020:
The LeapPad's popularity helped spawn other LeapPad branded devices that are incompatible with the mainstream LeapPad series of players. These devices were meant for younger audiences who are not ready for the mainstream LeapPad's titles.
The LeapPad is a computer with electrographic sensor. The sensor works as a capacitor and measures the amount of current flowing through corner electrodes into a plate beneath the table top, and uses that information to triangulate the location of the stylus on the table top. [7] The LeapPad is covered by U.S. patents 5686705 and 5877458.
These apps are typically available on the newer LeapPads, such as the LeapPad explorer series: [8]
The popularity of the LeapPad spawned a few competitions, most notably with Mattel under their Fisher-Price brand who launched the PowerTouch Learning System in 2003, [9] and later in the following year with the PowerTouch Baby. The PowerTouch Learning System was far more advanced than the LeapPad in many ways, requiring no stylus to operate as it uses a touch-sensitive area, and even the ability to detect page changes automatically via a set of infrared sensors on the top of the device (which also imposed a limitation on how many pages a book for the system can offer). Despite the improvements and backing from popular brands like Nelvana and Scholastic, the PowerTouch did not catch on with the public as widely as the LeapPad did although it does have its share of followers.
The LeapPad also faced competition from publisher Publications International, Ltd. whose specialty included electronic children books with sound modules. The ActivePoint and Magic Wand titles operated on a similar principle to the LeapPad. [10] [11] However, the system faced limitations in that the book itself is bound to the reader and stylus and thus cannot be interchanged. Publications International later introduced the Story Reader and My First Story Reader system, which is more limited in function in that it will only read the story as the user turns the page, and features less interactive features: The Story Reader completely lacks any interactive functions, while the My First Story Reader only has simple quizzes answered through the use of three buttons at the bottom of the device. Due to the lower cost of the system, Publications International's offering remained competitive with the LeapPad. The tablet range of the LeapPad also competed with VTech's InnoTab line of interactive tablet computers.
In South Korea, children’s education company ToyTron released the FutureBook series in 2013. The system is functionally identical to the first-generation LeapPad, requiring a stylus to operate and books are still being released for the brand as of 2023. [12]
LeapPad won the first-ever People's Choice Toy of the Year (T.O.T.Y.) award, as well as the Educational T.O.T.Y. award in 2000, sponsored by the Toy Industry Association. [13] LeapPad2 would win both awards in 2013. [14]
In September 2011, LeapFrog won the Platinum Award for LeapPad(TM) from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. [15]
A pointing device is a human interface device that allows a user to input spatial data to a computer. Graphical user interfaces (GUI) and CAD systems allow the user to control and provide data to the computer using physical gestures by moving a hand-held mouse or similar device across the surface of the physical desktop and activating switches on the mouse. Movements of the pointing device are echoed on the screen by movements of the pointer and other visual changes. Common gestures are point and click and drag and drop.
A graphics tablet is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images, animations and graphics, with a special pen-like stylus, similar to the way a person draws images with a pencil and paper.
ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers and tablets, the early models of which were designed, developed and marketed by International Business Machines (IBM) starting in 1992. IBM sold its PC business, including laptops to Lenovo in 2005, and since 2007, all new ThinkPad models have been branded Lenovo instead. The Chinese manufacturer further developed the line, and is still selling new models in 2024.
LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. is an educational entertainment and electronics company based in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog designs, develops, and markets technology-based learning products and related content for the education of children from infancy through grade school. The company was founded by Michael Wood and Robert Lally in 1994. John Barbour is the chief executive officer of LeapFrog.
Archos is a French multinational electronics company that was established in 1988 by Henri Crohas. Archos manufactures tablets, smartphones, portable media players and portable data storage devices. The name is an anagram of Crohas' last name. Also, in Greek (-αρχος), it's a suffix used in nouns indicating a person with power. The company's slogan has been updated from "Think Smaller" to "On The Go", and the current "Entertainment your way".
The V.Smile is a sixth-generation educational home video game console manufactured and released by VTech. The system was first released on August 4, 2004. Its titles are available on ROM cartridges called "Smartridges", a pun on the system's educational nature. Several variants of the V.Smile console are sold, including handheld versions and models with added functionality such as touch tablet integrated controllers or microphones. The V.Motion is a variant that includes motion-sensitive controllers and has titles designed to take advantage of motion-related "active learning".
Mimio is a brand name of a line of technology products aimed at the education market. The primary products were originally focused around computer whiteboard interactive teaching devices. MimioCapture devices also allow users to capture all of the ink strokes that are written on the whiteboard. When used in conjunction with a video projector it turns the ordinary whiteboard surface into a fully interactive whiteboard. The product line has been dramatically expanded in the last two years as described in the "Hardware Products" and "Software Products" sections below.
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers, have similar capabilities, but lack some input/output (I/O) abilities that others have. Modern tablets largely resemble modern smartphones, the only differences being that tablets are relatively larger than smartphones, with screens 7 inches (18 cm) or larger, measured diagonally, and may not support access to a cellular network. Unlike laptops, tablets usually run mobile operating systems, alongside smartphones.
An ultra-mobile PC, or ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), is a miniature version of a pen computer, a class of laptop whose specifications were launched by Microsoft and Intel in Spring 2006. Sony had already made a first attempt in this direction in 2004 with its Vaio U series, which was only sold in Asia. UMPCs are generally smaller than subnotebooks, have a TFT display measuring (diagonally) about 12.7 to 17.8 centimetres, are operated like tablet PCs using a touchscreen or a stylus, and can also have a physical keyboard. There is no clear boundary between subnotebooks and ultra-mobile PCs, but UMPCs commonly have major features not found in the common clamshell laptop design, such as small keys on either side of the screen, or a slide-out keyboard.
Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using a pen or stylus and tablet, over input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse.
In computing, a stylus is a small pen-shaped instrument whose tip position on a computer monitor can be detected. It is used to draw, or make selections by tapping. While devices with touchscreens such as newer computers, mobile devices, game consoles, and graphics tablets can usually be operated with a fingertip, a stylus provides more accurate and controllable input. The stylus has the same function as a mouse or touchpad as a pointing device; its use is commonly called pen computing.
LeapFrog Tag is an electronic handheld stylus that stores audio for proprietary paper books made by LeapFrog Enterprises. When in use the stylus is scanned across the page of a book, activating the stylus to play the prerecorded audio stored inside the stylus. When a word is scanned, for example, the stylus "reads" the word aloud to the user. The user can also play various games through this technique. LeapFrog Enterprises introduced it as the successor to the LeapPad which served as a platform for interactive books. The Tag stylus and the proprietary Tag books are primarily targeted to young children learning to read.
The history of tablet computers and the associated special operating software is an example of pen computing technology, and thus the development of tablets has deep historical roots. The first patent for a system that recognized handwritten characters by analyzing the handwriting motion was granted in 1914. The first publicly demonstrated system using a tablet and handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard for working with a modern digital computer dates to 1956.
The ThinkPad Tablet is a tablet computer made by Lenovo as part of its series of Android-based tablet devices and is targeted towards business users. Lenovo's tablet offerings are available in both ThinkPad and IdeaPad variants. While the ThinkPad Tablets are designed for business, the IdeaPad tablets, like the laptops of the same name, are meant for home and personal use. These tablets are different from Lenovo's X Series tablets, which are laptop/tablet hybrids and which use Microsoft Windows as their operating system.
The PAC-PAD 1 is the first version of an Android tablet computer developed by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra in collaboration with Hong Kong based INNAVTEK International. A succeeding model is being developed with cell phone network data connectivity.
The LeapPad Explorer was the first release in a new line of LeapPad products after the discontinuation of the original LeapPad line by LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. LeapPad Explorer was released on August 15, 2011.
An active pen is an input device that includes electronic components and allows users to write directly onto the display of a computing device such as a smartphone, tablet computer or ultrabook. The active pen marketplace has long been dominated by N-trig and Wacom, but newer firms Atmel and Synaptics also offer active pen designs.
Lenovo ThinkPad 10 refers to two generations of 10-inch business-oriented tablet computers manufactured by Lenovo.
The LeapFrog Epic is an Android-based mini-tablet computer produced and marketed by LeapFrog Enterprises. Released in 2015, the Epic is LeapFrog's first device to run on Android; most of LeapFrog's mobile computing devices for children run on a customized Ångström Linux distribution.
Lewis James “Jim” Marggraff is an American entrepreneur and inventor. He is known as the inventor of the LeapPad and is the founder and CEO of Kibeam Learning.