This month, Apple took out an unprecedented 12 page advertisement in Vogue to announce their long-awaited Apple Watch, a product that might transform the way we think about smart wearable devices. For gadget-hungry parents, the Apple Watch at least promises to be harder for children to beg, borrow or steal.
So what are the wearable options aimed at the junior market? It might not have the kudos of the Apple Watch, but LeapFrog's new LeapBand is more child-friendly. Pitched squarely at the under tens, the LeapBand mimics a grown-up smart watch but also incorporates another popular adult technology – the fitness band.
The LeapBand activity tracker comes with eight different customisable pets from LeapFrog’s popular Pet Pals franchise – a cat, dog, dragon, monkey, panda, penguin, robot and unicorn – which can be customised by colour and name. With their very own virtual pal, children can play ten pre-loaded active games and challenges with access to 40 additional free challenges. As they move and earn points, kids can unlock each of the additional eight pets and earn virtual toys for each of them as they stay engaged and learning with mini-games including Pet Boogie, Pet Chef and Pet Salon.
The LeapBand's big idea is that it will galvanise your children into action, courtesy of a built-in activity programme that's loosely linked to motion centres. Press the button, get your instructions and jump, bounce, crawl and leap your way to a 'reward' (a virtual jewel), with the watch's inbuilt sensors keeping track of your performance.
Pippa, six, needs little encouragement to win jewels, virtual or otherwise, and quickly zipped through all the available challenges and unlocking rewards, jewels and more active tasks. There's no conventional pedometer, however, which is a bit of an omission considering how successful this gadget is at encouraging exercise. The LeapFrog LeapBand is fun and convenient, and as a compact way of encouraging kids to do more, it's hard to beat.
PWT rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Extend the Fun!
In addition to the active play on LeapBand, the fun is extended to include a free downloadable companion app called the Petathlon™. In the Petathlon app, kids can compete as their virtual pet in six mini-games like archery, surfing and bobsledding to win extras including medals and new tracksuits for their virtual pet. The Petathlon app is available for download to a child’s LeapPad Ultra, iOS or Android smartphone or tablet.
LeapFrog LeapBand Activity Tracker (Pink)