Leapster Multimedia Learning System
is an educational toy aimed at kids
between 4 and 8 years old. There are quite
a few cartridges available for this system.
[ Photo: Amazon.com ]

The other day I got a chance to play with the Leapster Multimedia Learning System for the first time. This is a handheld electronic toy that straddles the line between educational and entertaining products. It's aimed at kids between the ages of 4 and 8.

The Leapster looked like a winner to me. This is the second holiday season that it will be available. Last year, the big criticisms of it were lack of program titles and poor quality control associated with the screen and the sensitivity of the touch screen. Both of these issues seem to have been addressed.

Cartridges available for this system include:

• SpongeBob SquarePants Saves the Day,
• Dora the Explorer- Animal Rescue,
• The Incredibles, and
• Spider-Man.

As you can see, Leapster has a lot of titles starring characters that are popular with kids this age. Whether these particular titles are all educational would be the subject of a website unto itself, but I thought listing some of the newest, most popular cartridges would illustrate how much software LeapFrog has produced for this platform.

Water Cooler Games did a terrific review of the Leapster about a year ago. There are a lot of really substantive comments attached to it, presumably from parents and other family members who purchased the Leapster for their children.