Tablet Comparison: LeapPad Ultimate vs. LeapFrog Epic Academy Edition

The LeapPad Ultimate and the LeapFrog Epic Academy Edition are both 7″ children’s educational tablets from LeapFrog, so how do they compare? Both tablets have a screen resolution of 1024×600 pixels and both come with a protective case in different colours.

The Ultimate is not an Android tablet, although the Academy Edition is, running a variant of 4.4 KitKat. Neither tablet can install Google Play; the Academy Edition can install the Amazon Appstore but the Ultimate has to get content from the LeapFrog App Center, or through LeapFrog cartridges. The Academy Edition also comes with the LeapFrog Academy app, a subscription-based service that has some months included.

The Ultimate has 8 gigabytes (GB) of internal memory whilst the Academy Edition has double that, with 16 GB. The Academy Edition has a memory card slot that will take memory cards up to 32 GB in size whilst the Ultimate lacks one.

Both tablets come with front and rear facing cameras and, on both tablets, both cameras have a resolution of 2.0 megapixels. Both come with WiFi and a micro USB port but the Academy Edition also comes with Bluetooth. Although battery life does vary on usage, the 5+ hours listed for the Ultimate is lower than the 7+ hours listed for the Academy Edition.

Both tablets come with LeapFrog’s own parental controls. The controls on the Ultimate are extremely strict, allowing access to only around 1,000 pieces of LeapFrog approved web content. Those on the Academy Edition are also strict but, unlike the Ultimate, parents can modify them. The Ultimate comes with a stated $110 in pre-installed content; the Academy Edition a stated $175.

The Ultimate is a substantially inferior tablet to the Academy Edition. It is poorer technically, with substantially less memory and no memory card slot. The restrictive parental controls deny access to much of the internet whilst those on the Academy Edition can be modified. The Ultimate can also only get content from the App Center, which content is all educational in nature and expensive. The Academy Edition can get more, and cheaper, content from the Amazon Appstore. The LeapPad Ultimate is a purely educational tablet with no other uses and a very restrictive, technically poor construction whilst the LeapFrog Epic Academy Edition is a far more flexible tablet than can be used for things other than pure education.