Learning Device (Leapster or Leap Pad or what)

I have a daughter who is 6 and I love educational toys. When she was around 4 we had gotten her a leapster and she did love it, but she kept losing the games. She plays with it even though she has lost practically all the games or broke them. We had a case for her and she wanted to take it everywhere. Whenever she was at a family members house or friends she would either lose the game or forget them. The leapster does have coloring pages that do not require a cartridges and a few other things. That is my experience with the leapser. This year we are actually getting her the leap pad. It seems to have more ways to interact and can connect to the computer. I am not sure about the games whether you need to buy them seperately in cartridges or you can upload them. I figured either way if she wants to take it any where she will need to leave the games at home. It has a built in camera and video recorder. There are 2 different one now. The second one has mor features and came out this year and it was recognized as the toy of the year. As for the explorer it does seem to be a lot of fun as well, but to be honest I cannot give you an opinion on it as I have not researched it enough.. I hope this helps. Either way whatever you get her she will enjoy it. Just so you know v-tech also has a similar item like the leap pad, but it did not get very good reviews. It is cheaper then leap frog products, but the quality is slightly lacking.