Ain't Technology Grand

I was walking through the Target a few days ago, perusing the Clearance section near Electronics (one of my favorite Target Clearance sections, other than the pocketbook and jewelry clearance sections).

I spotted this little iQuest PDA by Leap Frog. (For those of you that don't know what Leap Frog is, they pretty much OWN kid's electronics, starting with preschool toys all the way up.)

I have invested heavily in Leap Frog in the past. My kids have had the phonics early learning toys, and they currently have the Turbo Twist Addition and Multiplication games, several Leap Pad books and cartridges, and they DID have a Leapster, but it broke (that was kinda crappy, I have to admit.)

This particular doohickey is really pretty cool. It has Sweet Girl's science, math and social studies books preloaded, and she can play games while getting quizzed chapter by chapter.

This thing also has a calendar, a calculator, 75,000-word Merriam-Webster dictionary, address book, notepad, headphone jack and volume control.

Evidently, this thing will carry Sweet Girl through to 8th grade.

And I paid $24 for it, and $12 for some extra math and science cartridges.

OH, plus! You can use this MindStation thingy to download extra games, questions and study guides (I already had this for the kids' Leap Pad games) to expand the handheld even further.

Yeah, I know we don't have flying cars yet, or robot maids, or jetpacks, but considering that the ULTIMATE handheld electronic when I was in 5th grade was a Coleco Electronic Quarterback, the iQuest is pretty damn cool, I think.