History YMMV / Leapfrog

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: [[https://store.leapfrog.com/en-us/store/p/leappad-academy/_/A-prod80-602210 The second-edition [=LeapPad Academy=]]], quietly released as a hardware revision of the Epic line in 2021, became this. While the move to Android 10 is much overdue considering how they stuck with Android 4.4 [="KitKat"=] since the Epic was first released, (and well into the 2020s, just as when people have long since moved on to newer Android versions) [=VTech=] (who now owns the company and is also now apparently involved in development) locked down the new-revision [=LeapPad=] Academy even further, disabling if not fully removing development options which is present on ''almost all Android devices from the past decade'' and thus the ability to enable Android Debug Bridge is no longer accessible. The setting to enable it appears to be lying dormant in the database used to store system settings, but changing it involves enabling a setting through ADB, ironically enough. And forget about dumping the firmware either as the bootloader has a booby trap corrupting dumps past a certain point; to be fair this is hardly unique to [=LeapFrog=] as the code to deter firmware data-mining has been on [[https://gitlab.com/pgwipeout/u-boot-rockchip/-/blob/1b01cf5590f8d0b2270ffff5a656e38c5e3930ee/cmd/rockusb.c#L28 Rockchip's source repository]] all along though this was [[https://gitlab.com/pgwipeout/u-boot-rockchip/-/blob/quartz64/cmd/rockusb.c#L28 removed]] in a later commit. And if that wasn't enough, Bluetooth support was removed in the second edition as well, making it nigh impossible to connect wireless accessories such as external speakers and headphones to the tablet. While this may not matter to a casual audience, some parents whose kids might be using Bluetooth headsets or speakers to listen to educational content might end up getting frustrated over the lack of functionality.

** Many of the plush toys manufactured by the company also attracted college students due to their [[{{Kawaiiko}} cuteness factor]], this was {{Lampshaded}} in a Leapfrog commercial in the late 90s/early 2000s. Even today, the Scout and Violet toys don't just attract kids.

* SweetnessAversion: The Scout and Violet toys certainly qualifies. Heck, any of their toys whose target audience are toddlers qualifies.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: The W's in ''Letter Factory'' and both installments of ''The Talking Words Factory'', while managing to incorporate a pronunciation {{pun}} out of it, are very clearly designed after hip-hop fashion from the late 90s that eventually fell out of style by the late 2000s.

* WereStillRelevantDammit: The W's in ''Letter Factory'' and both installments of ''The Talking Words Factory'', while managing to incorporate a {{pun}} out of it, are very clearly designed after hip-hop fashion from the late 90s that eventually fell out of style by the late 2000s.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: The Scout and Violet toys certainly qualifies. Heck, any of their toys whose target audience are toddlers qualifies.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: The Scout and Violet toys certainly qualifies. Heck, any of their toys whose target audience are toddlers qualifies.
* TearJerker: In ''A Tad of Christmas Cheer'', when Tad does a duet with Mrs. Frog that something is missing. Made especially cruel since Tad is singing it out in the cold, while it's snowing.

* TheWoobie: Zero from ''Counting on Zero''. Professor Quigley flat-out tells Zero that [[ExactWords he's nothing]], but because [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot he fails to tell Zero]] about what uses he has in mathematical functions, Zero understandably falls into depression, attempts to run away from the Math Factory because he feels he's worthless, and accidentally causes the Quidgits to go rogue.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXWltWyRAgU This ad]] for [=LeapStart=], which is a [[TakeThat bitter jab]] (or at least as far as the company could reasonably do given their family-friendly image) at [[ConspiracyTheorist Conspiracy Theorists]] and their possible negative effects on impressionable children. Kids' minds are like a sponge, and as such [=LeapFrog=] knew that so-called "truthers" can and will warp a young person's mind for all the wrong reasons. Considering how Alex Jones's wife complained about having to deprogram their children from her husband's indoctrination, this is sadly TruthInTelevision.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXWltWyRAgU This ad]] for [=LeapStart=], which is a bitter jab at [[ConspiracyTheorist Conspiracy Theorists]] and their possible negative effects on impressionable children. Kids' minds are like a sponge, and as such [=LeapFrog=] knew that so-called "truthers" can and will warp a young person's mind for all the wrong reasons. Considering how Alex Jones's wife complained about having to deprogram their children from her husband's indoctrination, this is sadly TruthInTelevision.

* EarWorm: Some of the music played by the toys are ''very'' catchy. As are the music in the [=DVD=] series. It got so awesome that there were two soundtrack music CD releases.
--> ''We love the sounds that letters make / we make them every day...''

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXWltWyRAgU This ad]] for [=LeapStart=], which is a bitter jab at [[ConspiracyTheorist Conspiracy Theorists]] and their possible negative effects on impressionable children. Considering how Alex Jones's wife complained about having to deprogram their children from her husband's indoctrination, this is sadly TruthInTelevision.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXWltWyRAgU This ad]] for [=LeapStart=], which is a bitter jab at [[ConspiracyTheorist Conspiracy Theorists]] and their possible negative effects on impressionable children.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: The [=LeapFrog=] Epic's UI gained at least some criticism for this, with one reviewer expressing concern over how this may test the patience of some children. It doesn't help that for an $100+ tablet, it came with a [=MediaTek=] [=MT8127=], a system-on-chip designed for ''low-end'' tablets.
* NamesTheSame: Egregiously, both Franchise/LeapFrog and VideoGame/JumpStart has a firefly named Edison and a cat named Casey in their character roster.
** Likewise, Lily shares her name with another frog, this time from WesternAnimation/TootAndPuddle ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS and spelt "Lilly" proper]]).
* ObviousBeta: While the Epic tablet gained accolades from parenting organisations, it wasn't without its flaws - the TN screen they used suffered from bad viewing angles and colour reproduction[[note]]Though children don't seem to mind as one reviewer attested.[[/note]], the included [=MT8127=] system-on-chip was a bit inadequate for the task, and to top it all off, prices for applications and games developed for it, and by extension, the tablet itself, added a significant barrier to entry limiting its appeal when devices with similar performance could be had for less. It didn't help that the device costs way more in Asia for no good reason either - you could fetch a more capable tablet or perhaps an entry level desktop for the same price as the Epic is in Southeast Asia. Lastly, the brain-dead licensing of many third party brands are for the main six regions only (US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Australia and New Zealand) meant many of the apps aren't available in the 200+ countries who fall under the "other" region, leading to more discontent. They did try to appease these users by allowing the installation of the Amazon Appstore, but Amazon themselves did something equally stupid when launching Amazon Underground shortly after, blocking many apps from Asia where they were previously available and is still available on Google Play Store.
** Not to mention that firmware version 1.7.18 had a major bug where streaming videos are unable to play back properly regardless of site (e.g. [=YouTube=], Creator/{{Netflix}} or Vimeo), if at all, which is egregious as parents have bought the tablets for children to watch their favourite cartoons on. And to rub salt into the wound, [=LeapFrog=] isn't apparently arsed to fix the issue and has dismissed complaints as having nothing to do with the firmware itself and [[{{Misblamed}} blaming]] it on some third-party app they don't support, much to the ire of parents who have spent $50 or more on what would essentially be a defective product. That is unless you're a tech-savvy person or a parent who happens to be a hacker -- one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpUgI8ZSkP4 workaround]] is to replace the default firmware with a signed backup of the latest Academy Edition ROM.

* [[HeAlsoDid They Also Did]]: Creator/PorchlightEntertainment, the production house which helped make the first few [=DVDs=] and video releases, also did work for ''WesternAnimation/JayJayTheJetPlane'' and would go on to make ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays''. Yes, really. They went from this to ''THE SECRET SATURDAYS''.

* TheWoobie: Tad, especially in ''A Tad Of Christmas Cheer''

* DigitalPiracyIsEvil: Reviewers on Amazon [[https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2M6NPHSTHO6M0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B010NMTJA6#R2M6NPHSTHO6M0 bemoaned the DRM scheme on the Epic]], as it was cumbersome to deal with due to the draconian (re)activation scheme requiring users to authenticate their purchases every so often.

* CrackIsCheaper: Just look at how much a typical game costs on [=LeapFrog=]'s in-house app store compared to those on Google Play and Apple App Store, and you can pretty much see why parents who bought an Epic for their children would often ask if it is possible to install Google Play.[[note]]It is possible to do so, but this involves flashing [[https://github.com/huckleberrypie/device_quanta_narnia/releases/ a custom TWRP recovery]] and a ZIP image of the latest Google Play Services suite. An alternative would be using a patched Google Services framework or a patched [=YouTube=]/[=YouTube Kids=] app with Google Play dependencies removed, but that is less than ideal for the average parent either.[[/note]]
** The cheapest games on the App Centre go for around £3.50 UK/$5.00 US, and even [[http://www.leapfrog.com/en-gb/app-centre/p/_/A-prod58751-96914 those which have freely-available or open-source equivalents]] elsewhere go for a lot more than expected. At this point, you can tell that they're banking on character recognition instead of actual content, which is not a smart plan- while they do have a dedicated following, the following is not even close to the size of Disney or Warner Bros' characters fans.

* ObviousBeta: While the Epic tablet gained accolades from parenting organisations, it wasn't without its flaws - the TN screen they used suffered from bad viewing angles and colour reproduction[[note]]Though children don't seem to mind as one reviewer attested.[[/note]], the included [=MT8127=] system-on-chip was a bit inadequate for the task, and to top it all off, prices for applications and games developed for it, and by extension, the tablet itself, added a significant barrier to entry limiting its appeal when devices with similar performance could be had for less. It didn't help that the device costs way more in Asia for no good reason either - you could fetch a more capable tablet or perhaps an entry level desktop for the same price as the Epic is in SE Asia. Lastly, the brain-dead licensing of many third party brands are for the main six regions only (US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Australia and New Zealand) meant many of the apps aren't available in the 200+ countries who fall under the "other" region, leading to more discontent. They did try to appease these users by allowing the installation of the Amazon Appstore, but Amazon themselves did something equally stupid when launching Amazon Underground shortly after, blocking many apps from Asia where they were previously available and is still available on Google Play Store.

* [[HeAlsoDid They Also Did]]: PorchLight Entertainment, the production house which helped make the first few [=DVDs=] and video releases, also did work for JayJay The JetPlane and would go on to make ''The Secret Saturdays''. Yes, really. They went from this to ''THE SECRET SATURDAYS''.

* [[HeAlsoDid They Also Did]]: PorchLight Entertainment, the production house which helped make the first few DVDs and video releases, also did work for JayJay The JetPlane and would go on to make ''The Secret Saturdays''. Yes, really. They went from this to ''THE SECRET SATURDAYS''.

* CrackIsCheaper: Just look at how much a typical game costs on [=LeapFrog=]'s in-house app store compared to those on Google Play and Apple App Store, and you can pretty much see why parents who bought an Epic for their children would often ask if it is possible to install Google Play.[[note]]It is possible to do so once rooted, but this involves flashing [[https://github.com/huckleberrypie/device_quanta_narnia/releases/ a custom TWRP recovery]] and a ZIP image of the latest Google Play Services suite. An alternative would be using a patched Google Services framework or a patched [=YouTube=]/[=YouTube Kids=] app with Google Play dependencies removed, but that is less than ideal for the average parent either.[[/note]]

* CrackIsCheaper: Just look at how much a typical game costs on [=LeapFrog=]'s in-house app store compared to those on Google Play and Apple App Store, and you can pretty much see why parents who bought an Epic for their children would often ask if it is possible to install Google Play.[[note]]It is possible to do so once rooted, but rooting the device is risky business due to how difficult it is to roll back to the stock ROM no thanks to the locked bootloader. An alternative would be using a patched Google Services framework or a patched [=YouTube=]/[=YouTube Kids=] app with Google Play dependencies removed, but that is less than ideal for the average parent either.[[/note]]

** Perhaps infamously, the ''Fly Fusion Pentop Computer''. Businessmen and geeks alike love them so much that it spun off a professional pentop computer product for the adult market segment.

** Not to mention that firmware version 1.7.18 had a major bug where streaming videos are unable to play back properly regardless of site (e.g. [=YouTube=], Creator/{{Netflix}} or Vimeo), if at all, which is egregious as parents have bought the tablets for children to watch their favourite cartoons on. And to rub salt into the wound, [=LeapFrog=] isn't apparently arsed to fix the issue and has dismissed complaints as having nothing to do with the firmware itself and [[PlausibleDeniability blaming]] it on some third-party app they don't support, much to the ire of parents who have spent $50 or more on what would essentially be a defective product. That is unless you're a tech-savvy person or a parent who happens to be a hacker -- one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpUgI8ZSkP4 workaround]] is to replace the default firmware with a backup of the latest Academy Edition ROM.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading: The [=LeapFrog=] Epic's UI gamed at least some criticism for this, with one reviewer expressing concern over how this may test the patience of some children. It doesn't help that for an $100+ tablet, it came with a [=MediaTek=] [=MT8127=], a system-on-chip designed for ''low-end'' tablets.

* CrackIsCheaper: Just look at how much a typical game costs on [=LeapFrog=]'s in-house app store compared to those on Google Play and Apple App Store, and you can pretty much see why parents who bought an Epic for their children would often ask if it is possible to install Google Play.[[note]]It is possible to do so once rooted, but rooting the device is risky business due to how difficult it is to roll back to the stock ROM no thanks to the locked bootloader.[[/note]]

* BadExportForYou: Live in a country that falls under the "other" region? You can only buy apps for your Epic or [=LeapPad=] via gift cards. Those living in the US, UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand can pay for apps using a credit card, but those who do ''not'' have the option. Additionally, the app store is far more limited to those living in countries who fall under the "other" region, with a lot of highly desirable third party apps walled off.

* NoExportForYou: Good luck with getting a desired third party app for your Epic or [=LeapPad=] if you don't live in any of their supported regions. A lot of highly desirable apps are only available to the main six regions the company has a presence in. Other region countries only get a handful of third party apps, with the rest all being in-house apps.
** Additionally, the latest batch of pink Violet toys are not available outside of the US or Canada. The reason for this is due to a boneheaded marketing gimmick to make them "online exclusive", which means they're only available from the [=VTech=][[note]][=VTech=] has bought over [=LeapFrog=] in 2016, but is letting them exist as a separate subdivision[[/note]] marketplace store, who does '''not''' ship overseas. This has of course made fans of Scout and Violet who lives outside of the US and collects the toys very frustrated and angry.