Tablet Comparison: How do the LeapFrog Epic and the LeapPad Platinum Compare?

The LeapFrog Epic and the LeapPad Platinum are both 7″ educational tablets from LeapFrog, with the Epic being a newer model than the Platinum. Each tablet has a touchscreen with a resolution of 1024×600 pixels. The Platinum has been specifically designed to be used by children, with a case intended to protect the tablet from damage, whilst the Epic has a more common protective bumper intended to reduce the chance of damage if the tablet is dropped.

The Epic is an Android tablet, running a version of Android 4.4 KitKat, whilst the Platinum uses LeapFrog’s own operating system. The Platinum only has access to content from LeapFrog’s App Centre, as well as having a cartridge slot for suitable LeapFrog cartridges. The Epic lacks the cartridge slot but, in addition to being able to download apps from the App Centre, can also have the Amazon Appstore installed on it. This gives it access to a far wider range of apps and games than the Platinum, as it can install normal Android apps. It does not have access to Google Play however.

Each tablet has 2.0 megapixel front and rear facing cameras, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microphone and a single speaker. The Epic has 8 gigabytes of memory, double that of the Platinum, and in addition has a memory card slot which allows the memory to be expanded by using microSD cards of up to 32GB in size.

Each tablet has WiFi but the Epic also comes with Bluetooth. Out of the box, each only has access to LeapFrog’s list of approved web content, making the parental controls extremely strong. Those of the Epic are far more flexible, however. As well as the parent being able to install the Amazon Appstore, and download content from that to the tablet, they can also add sites and web content to the approved list and, if desired, even allow the Epic to run like a normal browser. This makes them much more flexible than is seen in other LeapFrog products,

Each tablet is intended primarily to be an educational tablet, and the Platinum has limited use other than that. Each does excel as an educational tablet, but as the Platinum only has access to LeapFrog content – and even most of the games are educational in nature – it is only really usable as that. The Epic, with its far more flexible parental controls and access to the Amazon Appstore, can be used as a more normal tablet as well.

The tablets are similar, but the Epic is perhaps a bit less chunky, bearing more resemblance to a typical tablet. The Epic has a faster processor too, and far more memory than the Platinum does. The biggest difference is that it is an Android tablet, with access to the Amazon Appstore, and its parental controls are more flexible. The LeapPad Platinum is a purely educational tablet; the LeapFrog Epic is an educational tablet that can also be used like a more normal tablet can.