Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Ok, first off a comparison to it's big papa, the Tag Sr., which I also own. After the comparison I will list a brief pro's and con's list for the people who just NEED to skim through a review:
Regarding the reader itself (the pen thing on the Tag and the little alien thing on the Tag Jr.):
- Tag Jr. is way better for little hands, it's little "head" fits perfectly into my 2yr old's tiny grip.
- It seems to be a lot sturdier, my son has drops it once and again onto our (carpeted) floors and this little guy just rolls with the punches, literally.
- The Tag has a little pencil-like thingie at the bottom that activates the camera, whereas the Tag Jr. has a small circular butt, overall it helps make it much more resilient to falls and the accidental (or are they?) "slams-it-down" on the book mishaps during particularly exciting pages.
- The purple one is really pink, so keep that in mind if you're particular about your boy playing with pink toys (also, get your head outta the gutter).
PROS:
- It's a great fit for little hands.
- Feels sturdy and durable.
- The camera activator is much better designed for the coordination-impaired.
- There's a list of child names on the Tag Software so the reader can greet your child by name each time you turn the device on-off.
CONS:
- Chews through batteries! The manual says not to use rechargeables, but I use them anyway, it's just a battery hog!
- This one is PINK not PURPLE, I don't mind, but maybe you don't like pink.
- You need to take off the battery cover to reach the usb slot.
- The buttons are not as easy to reach when your child is holding the device and forgets to turn it on, so he will wind up banging it on the book confused until you find the small groove the button is in.
- It seems to not work if it's not somewhat level with the book surface.
Regarding the books:
- The Tag Sr. books are regular paper books, so they tear up pretty easily. Now the Tag Jr. books are meant to be used by little ones! They're made from sturdy cardboard and (some) have pretty, vibrant colors.
- The activities on the Tar Sr. are usually started by pressing on the specific "buttons" on each page, on the Tag Jr. they are streamlined into the experience, for example, if you touch the same object a couple times it may prompt you to find and "click" on another page in the book.
- The Jr. books seem (with reason, I guess) to be much more simplistic than the Tag Sr. ones, but that means you also get much less content and much more repetition on the Jr.
Pros:
- The books are made out of durable cardboard with (sometimes) vibrant and colorful imagery.
- The stories are more simplistic and easier for a small child to get "useful learnin'" out of.
- The activities are built into the reading experience and start when the same spot in the page is tapped in repetition, they seem fun, but my child just ignores them.
Cons:
- The activities are built into the reading experience. Yes, this is also a con, because sometimes my kid just wants a sound to play again when he touches the same image twice, as it stands, he needs to cycle through the 3 or 4 different sounds (be them activities or spoken descriptions of the objects he is touching).
- The books are small, this ain't entirely a bad thing, but it unfortunately means there's less things to do on each page.
- There's too much repetition and some of the cool sound effects are hard to find and activate.
Nice to haves:
- It would be nice to have the ability to "record" a couple sentences or songs from the books in mommy's voice, which doesn't seem like would be THAT much of a problem to implement by the support team. (Yes, I'm talking to you guys! Stop playing with your Halos and your plastic guitars and get working on this!)
- Get those popular Tag Sr. brands on this thing! Toddlers enjoy Pixar too, you know.
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LeapFrog Tag Junior Book Pal - PurpleA love of books starts long before children can read - and its benefits can last a lifetime.Using the same amazing touch technology as the TagTM Reading System, the TagTM Junior book pal is designed to encourage toddlers' natural desire to explore, while introducing preschool skills through playful book-based activities.\n\n \n\nThe Tag Junior book pal is easy for parents and children to use.Parents can download audio for up to five books to the book pal, then let their toddlers explore.Each Tag Junior board book introduces a different preschool skill - such as the alphabet, counting or social play - through 24 playful activities and more than 130 audio responses.*Open-ended questions and fun sound effects encourage children to take charge, as they touch any part of any page to bring words, pictures or activities to life.After their child has played, parents can connect the book pal to the online LeapFrog? Learning Path to see their child's progress and get printable activities to expand the learning!\n
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