Amazon has long offered Kids Edition variants of its popular Fire HD tablets — including the new Fire HD 10 — and now it’s doing the same for its most basic ebook reader with the new Kindle Kids Edition.
Hardware-wise, it’s exactly the same as the basic Kindle Amazon debuted earlier this year, except it’s a little pricier as it comes with a case, along with software-specific features designed to encourage children to read.
The Kindle Kids Edition is the same refreshed 2019 model Amazon released in April, so you get a 6-inch E Ink screen, an adjustable front light, several weeks of battery life, and a Micro USB charging port, all in a lightweight package that’s easy to use one-handed.
What exactly is different here? You get a choice of four cases to protect the device, along with Amazon’s two-year, worry-free guarantee, so if something happens to the Kindle, Amazon will replace it for free.
The Kindle Kids Edition also comes with one year of FreeTime Unlimited included, which is Amazon’s kid-friendly content service that delivers access to more than 1,000 ad-free books and access to Audible. You can set age limits, so the Kindle will only show books relevant to a specific age group. The service costs $3 per month if you’re a Prime subscriber and $5 per month if you’re not.
But the main differences lie in the interface, which is more kid-friendly with additions like a “kid-friendly wallpaper,” and there are several features meant to help reading skills. These include:
Many of these features will come to older Kindle devices starting in January 2020, though Amazon said there’s no guarantee on whether it will come to significantly older Kindle models. That means if you already have a Kindle from the past few years, you won’t need to shell out for the Kids Edition if you want these features.
The Kindle Kids Edition is $110, which is $20 more than the standard Kindle. It’s available for pre-order now from Amazon and it ships on October 30. Amazon is offering a 25% off deal if you order two Kindle Kids Edition devices.
The cases come in Space Station, Rainbow Birds, blue, and pink.
Related Posts
OnePlus 15T leak spills details on a curious camera situation
According to the Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station (via Weibo), a "small-screen phone powered by the Snapdragon 8E5 is ready," translated from simplified Chinese. This phone, believed to be the OnePlus 15T, could feature a dual-camera setup "with a 50MP main sensor and a 50MP telephoto lens."
WhatsApp has begun testing a long-overdue group chat feature
The Meta-owned messaging platform is testing a new feature called "group chat history sharing" (via a WABetaInfo report). As the name suggests, the feature lets a WhatsApp user (likely the admin) share the chat history (up to 100 messages sent within 14 days) with someone while adding them to a group.
Google Photos introduces a fun new way to turn yourself into a meme
According to a recent post on Google's support forums, Me Meme is a generative AI feature that lets you star in trending memes using a template and a photo of yourself. It's rolling out in Google Photos for Android in the US, and you can try it out by tapping the "Create" button and selecting the new "Me meme" option.