In a move almost guaranteeing status as a most-wanted Christmas gift item, Amazon has announced among its upcoming array of new Kindle Fire devices the first real tablet computer aimed at kids, the new Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition
, costing $149 for the 6″ edition or $189 for the 7″ one. Available for pre-order now and shipping October 21, the Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition includes a two-year worry-free guarantee – if the kids break it, Amazon will replace it, “no questions asked.”
Amazon also offers some customers a special deal – order now and pay 20 percent of the cost at checkout and the rest via four monthly installments charged to your credit card.
The Fire HD Kids Edition is a genuine tablet, with a quad-core processor, 8 GB of onboard memory, HD video, front and rear cameras and Dolby Digital Audio. Plus, it comes complete with a rugged and colorful protective case in your choice of pink, blue or green.
The tablet also comes with one year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, offering access to 5000 kid-friendly books, movies, television shows, educational apps and games. Amazon FreeTime Unlimited normally costs about $3 a month. While geared toward children ages three to eight, the service includes a fair number of chapter books that may interest slightly older kids.
Amazon FreeTime Unlimited includes video selections such as:
- Super Why!
- Caillou
- Dora the Explorer
- Go, Diego, Go!
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Thomas and Friends
- Bob the Builder
- Word Girl
- Martha Speaks
FreeTime Unlimited books include:
- “Ivy & Bean” series
- “The Amazing Spiderman” Level 1 Reader
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse books such as “Mickey’s Space Adventure” and “Minnie’s Valentine”
- Dora the Explorer books like “Say Ahhh! Dora Goes to the Doctor” and “A Day at the Beach”
- Disney Princess chapter books such as “Rapunzel: A Day to Remember” and “Jasmine: The Missing Coin”
- SpongeBob SquarePants books like “SpongeBob Goes to the Doctor” and “Happy Birthday, SpongeBob!”
FreeTime Unlimited includes many educational Android apps as well, such as:
- Dora’s Dress-Up Adventures!
- Dora ABCs Vol 1: Letters & Letter Sounds
- Potty Time with Elmo
- Sid’s Science Fair
- Dora’s Enchanted Forest Adventures
- Dora ABCs Vol 2: Rhyming Words
- Team Umizoomi Math: Zoom into Numbers
- Elmo Loves 123s
- Batman: Stickers with Sounds
- Another Monster at the End of This Book…Starring Grover & Elmo!
- Dora ABCs Vol 3: Ready to Read!
- Kids ABC Trains
- Shape Builder – Learning Puzzle Game
- Kids ABC Phonics
- Kids Preschool Puzzles
- Miss Spider’s Tea Party
In addition, the Fire HD offers parental controls that let you create individual profiles for each child, personalizing screen time limits, educational goals and age-appropriate content.