Which is Better, the LeapPad Platinum or the LeapPad Ultra?

The LeapPad Platinum and the LeapPad Ultra are both 7″ educational tablets designed for children made by LeapFrog, with the Platinum being a newer model than the Ultra. Both tablets have a 1024×600 pixel resolution touchscreen displays, and both have been specifically designed to be used by children, with cases intended to help protect the tablets from damage, rather than being a more standard tablet with a protective silicone bumper added, as is seen in other models.

Neither tablet is an Android tablet, so neither has access to the Android ecosystem. Nor, as they are not made by Apple, do they use iOS. Instead, they both use LeapFrog’s own operating system. Both only have access, therefore, to apps from LeapFrog’s App Center that have been specifically designed and approved for use by children. Both also have cartridge slots, which will take suitable LeapFrog cartridges.

Both tablets have a 3.5mm microphone jack and a single speaker, as well as two 2.0 megapixel (MP) front and rear facing cameras. Both tablets also come with 8 gigabytes (GB) of internal memory, and neither has a memory card slot that would allow the memory to be expanded.

Each tablet comes with WiFi allowing internet access, and both can only visit LeapFrog’s approved list of web content. Both tablets, therefore, have very strong parental controls, as only content approved by LeapFrog can be viewed, either on the internet, or as an app or cartridge. The parental controls are strong, but inflexible.

Each tablet is primarily an educational tablet, with limited other use. Games are available, but these are educational games that have been designed by educators for children, at different levels of learning. This doesn’t mean that the games may not be fun, but their primary function is to educate through entertainment, not entertain themselves.

In most respects, the tablets are practically identical in their features, and in physical size. The Platinum is a newer model, though, and has a slightly faster processor, having a 1.0Ghz processor compared to the 98800Mhz processor of the Ultra. Neither tablet should really be purchased if education is not the primary aim of the purchaser.