History Franchise / LeapFrog

In February 2016, they revealed that they were going bankrupt due to less than stellar sales, as kids moved away from physical learning toys to learning software on tablet devices, as well as inability to compete with their own [=LeapPad=] and Epic tablet devices[[note]]the actual reason is, their device's design was botched from the start- despite critical acclaim, the device had many glaring flaws. Lack of official Google Play support, draconian region locking and credit card restrictions on countries outside the US, UK, Australia and Canada, and a crippled Bluetooth stack that blocks the use of HID devices. Combine that with a terrible price mark-up of up to 200% in Asian countries and one can clearly see that they have a recipe for disaster in their hands, especially since one can easily get cheap no-brand Chinese-made tablets at a quarter of the price. And while one can install Amazon [=AppStore=] onto the device, Amazon themselves has been pretty idiotic since the launch of ''Amazon Underground'', blocking many programs from being sold outside the US despite the same program being sold on Google Play worldwide[[/note]]. They were purchased by rival toy manufacturer [=VTech=] shortly after.

In Febuary 2016, they revealed that they were going bankrupt due to less than stellar sales, as kids moved away from physical learning toys to learning software on tablet devices, as well as inability to compete with their own tablet device[[note]]the actual reason is, their device's design was botched from the start- despite critical acclaim, the device had many glaring flaws. Lack of official Google Play support, ridiculous store region-locking and refusal to accept credit cards in countries other than the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand- forcing users of other countries to buy expensive gift cards that are only valid for one or two games, as well as other design guffaws like forcing UK English in countries other than US, Canada, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand without giving their users a choice, and a crippled bluetooth stack that blocks the use of bluetooth keyboards, mice and gamepads. Combine that with a terrible price mark-up of up to 200% in Asian countries and one can clearly see that they have a recipe for disaster in their hands, especially since one can easily get cheap no-brand Chinese-made tablets at a quarter of the price. And while one can install Amazon [=AppStore=] onto the device, Amazon themselves has been pretty idiotic since the launch of ''Amazon Underground'', blocking many programs from being sold outside the US despite the same program being sold on Google Play worldwide[[/note]]. They were purchased by rival toy manufacturer [=VTech=] shortly after.

In Febuary 2016, they revealed that they were going bankrupt due to less than stellar sales, as kids moved away from physical learning toys to learning software on tablet devices, as well as inability to compete with their own tablet device[[note]]the actual reason is, their device's design was botched from the start- despite critical acclaim, the device had many glaring flaws. Lack of official Google Play support, ridiculous store region-locking and refusal to accept credit cards in countries other than the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand- forcing users of other countries to buy expensive gift cards that are only valid for one or two games, as well as ridiculous region-locks and other design guffaws like forcing UK English in countries other than US, Canada, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand without giving their users a choice, and a crippled bluetooth stack that blocks the use of bluetooth keyboards, mice and gamepads. Combine that with a terrible price mark-up of up to 200% in Asian countries and one can clearly see that they have a recipe for disaster in their hands, especially since one can easily get cheap no-brand Chinese-made tablets at a quarter of the price. And while one can install Amazon [=AppStore=] onto the device, Amazon themselves has been pretty idiotic since the launch of ''Amazon Underground'', blocking many programs from being sold outside the US despite the same program being sold on Google Play worldwide[[/note]]. They were purchased by rival toy manufacturer [=VTech=] shortly after.

In Febuary 2016, they revealed that they were going bankrupt due to less than stellar sales, as kids moved away from physical learning toys to learning software on tablet devices, as well as inability to compete with their own tablet device[[note]]the actual reason is, their device's design was botched from the start- despite critical acclaim, the device had many glaring flaws. Lack of official Google Play support, ridiculous store region-locking and refusal to accept credit cards in countries other than the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand- forcing users of other countries to buy expensive gift cards that are only valid for one or two games, as well as ridiculous region-locks and other design guffaws like forcing UK English in countries other than US, Canada, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand without giving their users a choice, and a crippled bluetooth stack that blocks the use of bluetooth keyboards, mice and gamepads. Combine that with a terrible price mark-up of up to 200% in Asian countries and one can clearly see that they have a recipe for disaster in their hands, especially since one can easily get cheap no-brand Chinese-made tablets at a quarter of the price. And while one can install Amazon AppStore onto the device, Amazon themselves has been pretty idiotic since the launch of ''Amazon Underground'', blocking many programs from being sold outside the US despite the same program being sold on Google Play worldwide[[/note]]. They were purchased by rival toy manufacturer [=VTech=] shortly after.

In Febuary 2016, they revealed that they were going bankrupt due to less than stellar sales, as kids moved away from physical learning toys to learning software on tablet devices, as well as inability to compete with their own tablet device[[note]]the actual reason is, their device's design was botched from the start. Lack of official Google Play support, ridiculous store region-locking and refusal to accept credit cards in countries other than the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand- forcing users of other countries to buy expensive gift cards that are only valid for one or two games, as well as ridiculous region-locks and other design guffaws like forcing UK English in countries other than US, Canada, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand without giving their users a choice, and a crippled bluetooth stack that blocks the use of bluetooth keyboards, mice and gamepads. Combine that with a terrible price mark-up of up to 200% in Asian countries and one can clearly see that they have a recipe for disaster in their hands, especially since one can easily get cheap no-brand Chinese-made tablets at a quarter of the price[[/note]]. They were purchased by rival toy manufacturer [=VTech=] shortly after.

** Leapfrog was at one point owned by Knowledge Adventure, who also owns the [=JumpStart=] line. It looks likely that this was a failed attempt to shoehorn characters from the former into the latter.

In Febuary 2016, they revealed that they were going bankrupt due to less than stellar sales, as kids moved away from physical learning toys to learning software on tablet devices, as well as inability to compete with their own tablet device[[note]]the actual reason is, their device's design was botched from the start. Lack of official Google Play support, ridiculous store region-locking and refusal to accept credit cards in countries other than the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand- forcing users of other countries to buy expensive gift cards that are only valid for one or two games, as well as ridiculous region-locks and other design guffaws like forcing UK English in countries other than US, Canada, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand without giving their users a choice, and a crippled bluetooth stack that blocks the use of bluetooth keyboards, mice and gamepads. Combine that with a terrible price mark-up in Asian countries, and one can clearly see that they have a recipe for disaster in their hands[[/note]]. They were purchased by rival toy manufacturer [=VTech=] shortly after.

In Febuary 2016, they revealed that they were going bankrupt due to less than stellar sales, as kids moved away from physical learning toys to learning software on tablet devices, as well as inability to compete with their own tablet device[[note]]the actual reason is, their device's design was botched from the start. Lack of official Google Play support, ridiculous store region-locking and refusal to accept credit cards in countries other than the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, as well as ridiculous region-locks and other design guffaws like forcing UK English in countries other than US, Canada, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand, without giving their users a choice, and a crippled bluetooth stack that blocks the use of bluetooth keyboards. Combine that with a terrible price mark-up in Asian countries, and one can clearly see that they have a recipe for disaster in their hands[[/note]]. They were purchased by rival toy manufacturer [=VTech=] shortly after.

In Febuary 2016, they revealed that they were going bankrupt due to less than stellar sales, as kids moved away from physical learning toys to learning software on tablet devices, as well as inability to compete with their own tablet device[[note]]the actual reason is, their device's design was botched from the start. Lack of official Google Play support, ridiculous store region-locking and refusal to accept credit cards in countries other than the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, as well as ridiculous region-locks and other design guffaws like forcing UK English in countries other than US, Canada, Mexico and Australia/New Zealand, without giving their users a choice, and a crippled bluetooth stack that blocks the use of bluetooth keyboards). They were purchased by rival toy manufacturer [=VTech=] shortly after.

* {{Catchphrase}}: Time to change your batteries
* RearrangeTheThemeSong: Many Modern Toys by LeapFrog use a rearranged version of the [=LeapPad=] Learning System start-up sound.

* Catch Phrase: Time To Change Your Batteries
* Rearange The Theme Song: Many Modern Toys By LeapFrog Use A Rearainged Version Of the LeapPad Learning System Start Up Sound

* AscendedExtra: Edison. Originally introduced as a minor character in a [=LeapPad=] book, he was PutOnABus for a bit, and then brought back in time for A Tad Of Christmas Cheer, and then upgraded into a core character.

* PutOnABus / ChuckCunninghamSyndrome / RetGone: Everyone that is not Leap, Tad, Lily or Edison when ''Let's Go To School'' was produced. Heck, shortly before that point, it seemed that the entire ''Learning Friends'' crew was put on the bus in favor of keeping only Scout and Violet around. Thank goodness they had the sense to at least let the core kids off the bus before it moved off. But for the rest of the characters, they were just gone like that and have never been mentioned since. Although some did re-appear in [=LeapPad=] books that were republished and reworked for the Tag, they have never been seen in any newer toys and new Tag titles, and are not in the [=DVDs=] since ''A Tad Of Christmas Cheer''.

* TheBusCameBack: ... as Leap, Lily and Tad has been taken off the bus.

* {{iOS Games}}: About a dozen titles.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Leapfrog put out several toys that can be customized to say the owner's name. Some uses a cartridge programmer and flash cart that can be used to program the owner's name in, then inserted into certain toys. Others like the Scout and Violet My Pal plushes, [=LeapTop=] toy computers, and Story Time Pad toy tablets, can be programmed to say the owner's name via USB cable.
* MadLibsDialogue: Abovementioned programmable toys can also be programmed to know the owner's favorite food/fruit, animal and color.

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* RegionCoding: LeapFrog is the latest to join this madness (and so far, the '''only''' toy company to do so with their app store). Especially egregious because not only do they have a monopoly over the app market, but IP blocking is as flawed as it comes (being prone to false positives and can be bypassed by the more desperate). And oh, they let you see apps available on other markets, just blocking you from buying the said app. Seeing highly desirable apps and videos but not being able to buy them is a painful tease...

* EverythingsPreciousWithPuppies: Scout and Violet.

* PinkGirlBlueBoy: The ''Purple Girl Green Boy'' variant is used with Violet and Scout respectively. Also, many of their products comes in either blue and green or purple and pink.

[=LeapFrog=] Enterprises is a toy and publishing company based in Emeryville, California. Founded by a Michael Wood in 1995. The company specializes in educational toys and electronics. They are primarily known for the [=LeapPad=], an electronic talking book device, the Leapster - a handheld gaming console with the processing power that's about equivalent to a GameBoyAdvance, and the Fly Pentop computer, which somehow gained popularity in the business and computing world.

* HelloInsertNameHere: Leapfrog put out several toys that can be customized to sat the owner's name. Some uses a cartridge programmer and flash cart that can be used to program the owner's name in, then inserted into certain toys. Others like the Scout and Violet My Pal plushes, [=LeapTop=] toy computers, and Story Time Pad toy tablets, can be programmed to say the owner's name via USB cable.

* SameLanguageDub: The UK versions of the toys have a "British English" sticker to indicate that it's for the UK market, and toys with the sticker have a British accent.

** TheBusCameBack: ... as Leap, Lily and Tad has been taken off the bus.

** Now (2014) it seems that Scout and friends are put on the bus, and Leap, Lily and Tad are taken off the bus.
* TheBusCameBack: Leap, Lily and Tad has been taken off the bus as of 2014, in exchange for Scout and his friends.

* CrossDressingVoices: The Violet toys are voiced by the same voice actor that voices Scout (11 year old Charlie Ibsen. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udulp08nuwU See him interviewed by a San Fransisco Chronicle reporter here]]). In fact, the My Pal Scout and My Pal Violet actually shared an identical voice set to cut costs (this was possible because the toys never mention their own name). The other toys only made minor tweaks to the voice set, but Scout and Violet still sound identical on these toys.
** Also, in the Learning [=DVDs=], Tad and Leap are voiced by females (Julie Maddalena and Cindy Robinson respectively).

* MadLibsDialog: Abovementioned programmable toys can also be programmed to know the owner's favorite food/fruit, animal and color.