While there have been numerous studies as to why kids shouldn’t be exposed to gadgets at a young age, there are still ways to be able to strike a balance between usage and also access to information and digital entertainment. Amazon believes that you can find the middle ground as they are introducing new kid-friendly devices with their first Kindle Kids edition and an updated Fire HD Kids Edition plus the expansion of Amazon FreeTime. For grown-ups, they’re bringing a new Fire HD 10 which still carries the same price.
The Kindle Kids Edition is basically a repurposing of the standard Kindle app with its 167 ppt e-ink display and adjustable front light. They will not be able to do anything except read ebooks so that’s a good thing if you’re trying to get them reading. There are rewards and badges that they can get when they finish their goals and there are also tools like Dictionary, Vocabulary Builder, Word Wise, etc. It comes with colored (pink, blue, Space Station, Rainbow Birds drop-friendly cases and will have one year of Free Time Unlimited. You can pre-order it for $109.99 and they’ll start shipping by October 30.
The new Fire HD 10 Kids Edition has a 10.1” 1080p Full HD display and comes with 32GB of expandable storage, up to 12 hours of mixed-use battery life, and a kid-proof case with adjustable stand. You will also get one year of FreeTime Unlimited subscription so kids can have access to more than 20,000 ebooks, audio books, videos, educational apps, games, etc. There are also parental controls so you can monitor and set limits on how long the kids can use it. It’s now available for pre-order for $199.99 and will also start shipping by October 30.
Speaking of Amazon FreeTime, both this and FreeTime Unlimited will now be available to the Fire TV Stick and soon selected Fire TV Edition smart TVs. This is the first time that all the content your kids can find in the free and subscription services can be seen on the bigger screen. They will also be supported on Amazon Echo Show devices as well. As for Amazon Free Unlimited, you can get one year free subscription when you get the two aforementioned devices as well as the Echo Dot Kids Edition and then afterwards pay $4.99 per month.
The new Fire 10 HD for grown-ups comes with a 10.1-inch Full HD display and is powered by a 2.0 GHz octa-core processor. It has 32GB of expandable storage and battery life can last up to 12 hours. It is meant for viewing entertainment content so it has custom-tuned stereo speakers and of course supports hands-free Alexa features. It’s available in Plum, Twilight Blue, Black, and White and price is still $149.99. Pre-order starts now and will start shipping by October 30.
