InnoTab 2 Learning App Tablet

$80, Smart Toy, InnoTab

Teaches: early learning

CTR Rating: 84%

CTR Review

In the ongoing tablet battle for the eyes -- and fingers -- of our young children, one shouldn't quickly rule out toy companies. They've had years to figure out the the final details of retail marketing, child-proof packaging, buy-one-get-one-free incentives and AA batteries. What's interesting is the way the power gap between toy and tablet is narrowing. For $80, you can now choose between a toy that's trying to act like a serious tablet, or a tablet that's trying to resemble a toy, and both are fighting for the attention of the same 3-to 9-year old child. This year, VTech (www.vtechkids.com) is competing directly with LeapFrog with three AA battery powered portable platforms: the MobiGo 2 ($60), the InnoTab 2 ($80) with a new hinged digital camera and video recorder that can swivel from front to back, and the InnoTab 2S that costs $20 more and has built in Wi-Fi, which we did not yet test. All three have touch screens, accelerometers, and internal memory for storing photos, plus music and apps from an app store called the Learning Lodge. All three run cartridges, too. So which is best? The differences between the LeapPad 2 and InnoTab 2 are slim. This year's InnoTab 2 and 2s are smaller than last year's rather clunky InnoTab, despite having the same sized 5" touch screen, and they both are powered by four AA batteries. They're also backward compatible with last year's InnoTab cartridges. Both come with a photo viewer, video player, MP3 music player, e-reader, art studio and microphone. Out of the box software includes one tilt sensor game, one augmented reality game, one e-book, art studio app, notes app, friends list, calendar and calculator. Additional content can be downloaded from VTech's Learning Lodge Navigator at www.VTechKids.com/Download... a process that is less than straightforward. InnoTab contains less memory than the LeapPad2 (2GB) but unlike the LeapPad, you can expand the storage with an SD card slot (card not included). Besides the 4 AA batteries, there's also a replaceable button cell battery for saving your profiles and setup information in case your AA batteries need to be changed. According to VTech, the InnoTab library includes 200 items, including $5 games and e-books. You can set it up four profiles (each with a user name and avatar) with a custom voice greeting, and a photo wallpaper. The bottom line? The differences between the InnoTab 2 and the LeapPad2 are slim; but both pale in comparison to the iPad.