Amazon has announced an all new addition to its tablet line, known as the Fire HD Kids Edition. The device, which comes in 6 and 7-inch variants, is an augmented version of the company’s refreshed Fire HD tablets, and packs a range of child-friendly features, from added durability to parental controls.
The new tablets share the same internals as the newly refreshed Fire HD tablets. That means that the kid-friendly slates pack 1,280 x 800 displays, quad core processors and run on the company’s Fire OS 4 Sangria platform.
However, as the devices are aimed squarely at children and parents, there are some noteworthy changes on board. First off, the company has added some significant durability credentials to the device, with the tablet shipping with a rubber case designed to protect it against inevitable bumps and drops. There’s also a two year guarantee included, with Amazon stating that “if they break it, we’ll fix it. No questions asked.”
The other major draw of the slate is a one year subscription to Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, providing access to the company’s library of more than 5,000 books, TV Shows and movies. The FreeTime service also lets parents select the content their child can see, limit time spent in certain apps or content, set a curfew on the device, and block access to the store and in-app purchases.
The Fire HD Kids Edition will ship in October, and is available for pre-order starting today. The slates are available in blue, green and pink, with the 6-inch slate and shipping for US$149, and the 8-inch variant for $189.
That’s significantly more than the company’s new Fire HD 6 and 7 tablets, but with Amazon claiming that its FreeTime Unlimited service is worth anything up to $120, it might just be worth it for parents looking for a capable yet kid-friendly slate.
Source: Amazon