LeapFrog launches education handheld for new age of apps

LeapFrog Enterprises has entertained millions of kids with its education books and handheld games. But in the age of Apple’s iPod Touch, it’s time for the company to take a big leap forward with its technology.

The Emeryville, Calif. company is announcing its new Leapster Explorer handheld touchscreen gaming system on Monday. It comes with cartridge-based educational games, but you can also download apps into it via a wired PC connection. The product will be available for preorder on Monday and will be in stores July 15.

“The new digital apps era is underway and we want to apply that technology to our line of educational products. This is the first product in a platform that will have broader uses,” said Bill Chiasson, chief executive of LeapFrog, in an interview.

The Leapster Explorer is a multi-faceted device, allowing kids ages four to nine to play games, read e-books, watch 30-minute videos, or download new educational apps. In the making for 18 months, the Explorer is the biggest product launch for the company since it launched the Leapster 2 handheld in 2008.

With the new system, the technology gets an upgrade. The games are stored on 64-megabyte memory cards, compared to 8 on the Leapster 2. The LeapFrog Explorer has a 400 megahertz microprocessor in it with 512 megabytes of memory. About 300 megabytes is available for downloading apps into it. It has 3D graphics acceleration and runs Flash 3.1. It connects to a computer via a universal serial bus (USB) cable. You can use your finger or a stylus to activate the 3.2-inch touchscreen.

The device itself is just $69, low enough for the kids toy market. Games are $25, while the apps known as Leaplets are $7.50.

The company had to come out with this new device to keep up with the times. Apple’s iPod Touch has become extremely popular with kids, partly because its internet access can be controlled by parents and because there are tons of free apps or games that sell for as little as 99 cents. But David Perkinson, director of game development at LeapFrog, correctly notes that the iPod Touch and many other handheld devices are designed for adults. You could delight your child with an iPad, but do you really want to pay $499 or more for a device that your child will see as one more toy?

LeapFrog is one of the few handheld device makers that has a long track record in creating educational games that are fun for kids and pleasing to parents. The company’s products show that it knows how to keep kids engaged in educational content, something that many other companies have failed at, Chiasson said. LeapFrog has half the market share for the educational gadget market in the U.S.

The company has a lot riding on the new Explorer. It sold more than 7 million Leapster devices and 22 million pieces of software. But the publicly traded company has had a tough time staying profitable. Overall sales in the first quarter were up 42 percent to $42.4 million, but the company reported a net loss of $23.5 million.

The Explorer comes with its own customizable pet, such as a dog, which the child can name and use as a persistent avatar on the device. You can upload the pet to the company’s online site LeapWorld. The touchscreen adds a lot of interesting game play. One of the Leaplet apps, Sugar Bugs, shows kids how to brush their teeth. You can brush the teeth on the screen by rubbing your finger back and forth. A timer runs for two minutes to show the child how long they need to brush for.

The games range from a Toy Story 3 game based on the film to science and math games made by LeapFrog itself. In one game, your child can learned to spell via phonemes, or pronouncing words a syllable at a time. You can draw words with your finger on the touchscreen. Using LeapForg’s Learning Path technology, a game can level up the child if the lessons are too easy. And if you insert a different game, the child will start at the appropriate customized level of difficulty. The system can upload this data online so that parents can track a child’s progress.

The company will have 12 games on cartridges for its start. About 18 Leaplet apps will be ready for the launch, with many more coming later. The titles will be both original LeapFrog titles as well as branded properties licensed from Nickelodeon. There will also be a handful of videos and e-books available.  The system is not backward compatible with the Leapster or Leapster 2 systems. It runs a custom version of Linux and has an expansion slot that can accommodate new accessories such as a camera. The Leapster Explorer Camera will be coming for the holidays.

The company has 500 employees, and its major product lines include the Leapster, Leapster 2 (which will now cost $49 instead of $69), and its Tag electronic books.