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29-436: The device, resembling a talking book, took 3 years to develop and was introduced to the market in 1999. In 2001 (sales $ 160 million) and 2002 it was the best-selling toy in speciality stores. Sales in 2003 reached $ 680 million and were only eclipsed by sales of the book and cartridge add-ons. LeapStart is in red, Leap 1 is in orange, Leap 2 is in blue, and Leap 3 is in green. LeapPad was invented by Jim Marggraff and developed by

58-576: A former executive at Mattel , became LeapFrog chief executive officer as a result of the merger. LeapFrog acquired Explore Technologies in August 1998. Explore Technologies produced the Odyssey Globe, an interactive globe that could call out the names of countries when users touched the globe with a specially designed stylus. Explore Technologies' stylus technology was later used in LeapFrog's LeapPad ,

87-562: A learning tablet that sounds out words when users drag a stylus across a word in LeapPad books. The LeapPad launched in 1999 and became Leapfrog's flagship product. It was the top-selling toy in the US for 2001 and 2002, and books and accessories for the device were the best-selling toy in the US in 2003. LeapFrog opened its LeapFrog Schoolhouse division, which markets LeapFrog products directly to schools, in 1999. LeapFrog co-founder Michael Wood became

116-419: A partner at Cooley. By 1994, Wood had developed the first prototype of what would become Phonics Desk, LeapFrog's first product. The prototype utilized a Texas Instruments chip that was previously used by one of Wood's clients to develop talking greeting cards . Wood solicited feedback on his prototype from the late Robert Calfee , an expert on children's reading development and a professor of education at

145-608: A set of infrared sensors on the top of the device (which also imposed a limitation on how many pages a book for the system can offer). Despite the improvements and backing from popular brands like Nelvana and Scholastic , the PowerTouch did not catch on with the public as widely as the LeapPad did although it does have its share of followers. The LeapPad also faced competition from publisher Publications International, Ltd. whose specialty included electronic children books with sound modules. The ActivePoint and Magic Wand titles operated on

174-519: A similar principle to the LeapPad. However, the system faced limitations in that the book itself is bound to the reader and stylus and thus cannot be interchanged. Publications International later introduced the Story Reader and My First Story Reader system, which is more limited in function in that it will only read the story as the user turns the page, and features less interactive features: The Story Reader completely lacks any interactive functions, while

203-624: A team from Explore Technologies, Inc. , which was founded by Marggraff and was acquired by LeapFrog in July 1998. It uses the same patented "NearTouch" technology developed for the Explore Technologies Odyssey Atlasphere. Investigation and development was started in December 1997. Throughout the years, the LeapPad began getting more advanced and more similar to that of an iPad. The LeapPad Explorer sub-series of tablet-computers were

232-441: Is a computer with electrographic sensor. The sensor works as a capacitor and measures the amount of current flowing through corner electrodes into a plate beneath the table top, and uses that information to triangulate the location of the stylus on the table top. The LeapPad is covered by U.S. patents 5686705 and 5877458. These apps are typically available on the newer LeapPads, such as the LeapPad explorer series: The popularity of

261-831: The LeapFrog Tag Learning System, the LeapFrog eBooks, the Leapster Explorer , the LeapPad Explorer , and re-released DVDs. Scout the Puppy first appeared in The Amazing Alphabet Amusement Park and Numbers Ahoy in 2009, and later characters from his series include Violet the Puppy, Penny the Hamster and Eli the Cat, along with their sentient car Axle. In 2003, LeapFrog began releasing animated content based on

290-454: The LeapPad Explorer educational tablet computer in 2011. The LeapPad Explorer was designed for children aged four to nine and contained a five-inch touchscreen, camera, microphone, and both downloadable apps and cartridge-based games. In 2012, LeapFrog released its updated LeapPad2 and LeapsterGS. The LeapPad Ultra tablet computer and LeapReader were launched in 2013. The LeapReader is an electronic reading and writing system that succeeded

319-612: The Stanford Graduate School of Education . Wood began manufacturing the Phonics Desk in 1995. That year, Wood resigned as a partner at Cooley LLP and founded LeapFrog Enterprises with Robert Lally. The company received $ 800,000 in seed funding from friends, family, and former clients of Wood. Toys "R" Us became the first major retailer to carry the Phonics Desk shortly before Christmas 1995. Other retailers such as FAO Schwarz , Walmart and Target later began carrying

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348-475: The Frog family; consisting of siblings Tad, Leap, and Lily, and their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frog. Other major characters include Professor Quigley, an eccentric professor who usually helps the Frog children learn educational concepts, and Mr. Websley, the boss of Quigley and Mr. Frog who runs the factories. This wave of videos teach basic early learning skills that would become recurring features in future videos, including

377-660: The FutureBook series in 2013. The system is functionally identical to the first-generation LeapPad, requiring a stylus to operate and books are still being released for the brand as of 2023. LeapPad won the first-ever People's Choice Toy of the Year (T.O.T.Y.) award, as well as the Educational T.O.T.Y. award in 2000, sponsored by the Toy Industry Association . LeapPad2 would win both awards in 2013. In September 2011, LeapFrog won

406-530: The LeapFrog characters onto home video. Over the course of more than a decade, various interpretations of the LeapFrog franchise have been used, and sixteen videos total have been produced. Similar to other preschool content from PBS Kids , Nick Jr. , and Playhouse Disney , LeapFrog is an early educational program designed for children in the age group of 2–7 years. The videos and DVDs were originally distributed by PorchLight Home Entertainment and Lionsgate Home Entertainment . The original wave of videos starred

435-549: The LeapPad spawned a few competitions, most notably with Mattel under their Fisher-Price brand who launched the PowerTouch Learning System in 2003, and later in the following year with the PowerTouch Baby. The PowerTouch Learning System was far more advanced than the LeapPad in many ways, requiring no stylus to operate as it uses a touch-sensitive area, and even the ability to detect page changes automatically via

464-470: The My First Story Reader only has simple quizzes answered through the use of three buttons at the bottom of the device. Due to the lower cost of the system, Publications International's offering remained competitive with the LeapPad. The tablet range of the LeapPad also competed with VTech 's InnoTab line of interactive tablet computers. In South Korea, children’s education company ToyTron released

493-614: The Odyssey globe released under the LeapFrog label in 1999. The NearTouch technology was then applied to the LeapPad learning platform also released in 1999. LeapFrog Enterprises This is an accepted version of this page LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. is an educational entertainment and electronics company based in Emeryville, California . LeapFrog designs, develops, and markets technology-based learning products and related content for

522-585: The Platinum Award for LeapPad(TM) from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. Explore Technologies, Inc. 37°23′01″N 121°58′49″W  /  37.38351°N 121.98021°W  / 37.38351; -121.98021 Explore Technologies, Inc. was founded in Sunnyvale, California in 1995. The company was acquired by LeapFrog on July 22, 1998. The explore team produced $ 99 and $ 129 versions of

551-463: The Tag Reading System which only taught reading skills. The company released LeapBand, its first wearable activity tracker for children, in 2014. LeapFrog also released its LeapPad3 and LeapPad Ultra XDi tablet devices in 2014. In July 2014, the company announced the release of LeapTV . They also got net loss for $ 124   million and had net sales of $ 145   million. In August 2015,

580-476: The alphabet, reading, spelling, numbers, and addition, and subtraction. The second wave phased out most of the "Learning Friends" characters, only leaving Tad, Leap, and Lily as the main characters. However, these videos would see the addition of two new major characters: Edison (a firefly previously seen in A Tad of Christmas Cheer ) and Scout (a green dog introduced in 2007 as the company's mascot). Scout would be spun-off into his own series in 2011, which introduced

609-523: The characters for use in third party products. These characters are collectively known as the Leapfrog Learning Friends. LeapFrog continues to develop new characters and has expanded character placement across products and content. Characters include Leap, Lily, Tad, Della, Dan, Dot, Casey, Parker, Tim, Mr. Frog, Mrs. Frog, Mr. Websley, Professor Quigley, and Edison. Most of the characters have been discontinued since 2008, but continued to appear on

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638-879: The company announced LeapFrog Epic , its new Android -based tablet for children, which was released in September 2015. On April 4, 2016, VTech completed its $ 72   million acquisition of LeapFrog. LeapFrog's product portfolio focuses on three main families of products: reading solutions, educational gaming, and grade school products and learning toys. Notable products include: Leapfrog also develops educational applications for smartphones. These apps include: In addition to producing their own toys, LeapFrog also licenses their characters (the Leapfrog Learning Friends) to third parties: LeapFrog also has partnerships with various companies: LeapFrog has developed various characters for use in-house, and eventually licensed

667-648: The company's chief executive officer in early 2002. In July, LeapFrog went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LF. Knowledge Universe retained majority control of the company following the initial public offering . Sega Toys and Benesse also began producing LeapFrog toys localized for the Japanese market in 2002. The Leapster was released in October 2003. LeapFrog products were sold in more than 25 countries by that year. Tom Kalinske

696-419: The education of children from infancy through grade school. The company was founded by Michael Wood and Robert Lally in 1994. John Barbour is the chief executive officer of LeapFrog. The history of LeapFrog traces back to the late 1980s when LeapFrog founder Michael Wood, an attorney at Cooley LLP , had difficulties teaching his son how to read. He began researching phonics and marketing while continuing as

725-413: The first LeapPads to introduce a touch capacitive display to the lineup. Various models of the LeapPad were developed between its launch in 1999 and 2020: The LeapPad's popularity helped spawn other LeapPad branded devices that are incompatible with the mainstream LeapPad series of players. These devices were meant for younger audiences who are not ready for the mainstream LeapPad's titles. The LeapPad

754-810: The founding chairman and chief executive officer of Orbitz and had served on the LeapFrog board for a year prior to becoming the chief executive officer of LeapFrog. Kalinske remained vice chairman of LeapFrog. LeapFrog discontinued the LeapPad and released its Tag Reading System in June 2008. Tag became LeapFrog's flagship product and was a successor to the 10-year-old LeapPad. The company released its Leapster2 portable learning system and its Didj educational handheld game console in August 2008. William "Bill" Chiasson replaced Jeffrey Katz as LeapFrog president and chief executive officer in March 2010. Chiasson had most recently served as LeapFrog chief financial officer . Katz

783-552: The toy. LeapFrog had distribution in over 10 countries and a number of major clients in the US by early 1997. In March of that year, the company hired Brad Crawford, who formerly worked for Little Tikes , to oversee sales and manufacturing. Knowledge Universe acquired a majority stake in LeapFrog in October 1997. Knowledge Universe is an education company founded by brothers Lowell Milken and Michael Milken , Larry Ellison , and Tom Kalinske . LeapFrog subsequently merged with Knowledge Universe's Knowledge Kids division. Kalinske,

812-461: Was appointed LeapFrog chief executive officer following Michael Wood's retirement in February 2004. Kalinske had previously served as LeapFrog's chief executive officer from the company's acquisition by Knowledge Universe in 1997 until early 2002. Wood was retained as the company's chief creative officer. Jeffrey G. Katz replaced Kalinske as LeapFrog chief executive officer in 2006. Katz was previously

841-646: Was appointed to the newly created position of executive chairman of the board. LeapFrog also released the Leapster Explorer educational handheld game console in 2010. The Leapster Explorer was the successor to the Leapster2 and was targeted toward older children. The console supports online gameplay as well as learning apps, e-books, and videos. John Barbour was named the chief executive officer of LeapFrog in March 2011. Barbour previously served as an executive for Toys "R" Us and RealNetworks . LeapFrog released

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