Why the LeapPad couldn’t survive the iPad

为什么 LeapPad 无法在 iPad 的冲击下生存

For multiple years, the hottest toy in the United States was a book. But not just any book: a smart book that could play sounds and respond to taps and help kids learn to read. It was the kind of gadget seemingly any parent could get behind, but it came with a high price — and some unexpected parenting questions. 多年来，美国最热门的玩具是一本书。但这可不是普通的书：这是一本能够播放声音、响应点击并帮助孩子学习阅读的智能书。这似乎是任何家长都会支持的那种小玩意，但它价格昂贵，同时也带来了一些意想不到的育儿问题。

On this episode of Version History, David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s Andru Marino and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy to explain how the LeapPad worked, why it was so enticing to both kids and adults, and why the company that made it could never quite follow it up. 在本期《版本历史》（Version History）节目中，大卫·皮尔斯（David Pierce）与 The Verge 的安德鲁·马里诺（Andru Marino）和詹妮弗·帕蒂森·图伊（Jennifer Pattison Tuohy）共同探讨了 LeapPad 的工作原理，它为何对儿童和成年人都有如此大的吸引力，以及为什么制造它的公司始终无法推出后续的成功产品。

We’re almost finished with our fifth season of Version History, all about the most iconic school tech. So far this season we’ve already dug deep into the stories of Oregon Trail, the original Chromebook, the One Laptop Per Child program, and those ubiquitous Texas Instruments calculators. 我们的第五季《版本历史》即将结束，本季主题是那些最具标志性的校园科技产品。到目前为止，我们已经深入挖掘了《俄勒冈之旅》（Oregon Trail）、初代 Chromebook、 “每个孩子一台笔记本电脑”（One Laptop Per Child）项目以及那些随处可见的德州仪器计算器的故事。

If you’re a Verge subscriber, you can also get access to Version History (and all our other podcasts) with no ads. All you have to do is visit your account settings. 如果您是 The Verge 的订阅用户，您还可以免广告收听《版本历史》（以及我们所有的其他播客）。您只需访问账户设置即可。