Amazon has launched a new version of its popular Kindle e-reader aimed at children, which comes bundled with more than 1,000 age-appropriate books.
The new £99 Kindle Kids Edition is a special variant of Amazon’s latest, cheapest frontlit 6in Kindle with software designed to encourage reading through gamification and word building.
Children can complete goals based around words, pages and books, winning badges as they go. A modified version of Amazon’s X-ray tools allows children to look up words, which are added to word lists as vocabulary builders including flash cards and Amazon’s existing “word wise” aids.
Word and phrase translation into and from other languages is available, but access to Wikipedia, as usually found on Amazon’s Kindle, is restricted. Amazon’s search has also been modified to help children find books without having to know the exact spelling of titles or authors.
The Kindle Kids Edition comes with a case for the e-reader, a year’s subscription to Amazon’s Kids Unlimited, including more than 1,000 books, with audiobooks from Audible coming soon. The Kindle is also covered by a two-year warranty and the company will replace the device if it is broken during use.
Mirroring Amazon’s Kids Editions of its Fire tablet range, the new Kindle also has an extensive parental dashboard showing what children are reading and how often, alongside quick summaries and conversation points from the books to aid discussion and engagement.
Alongside the new Kindle, Amazon launched an updated version of its £149.99 Fire HD 10 tablet. Amazon’s largest Android tablet is now 30% faster and lasts up to two hours longer with a battery life of 12 hours of mixed use.
The Fire HD 10 also now comes with improved wifi, faster USB-C charging, reaching 80% in three hours, and an updated version of Fire OS with support for picture-in-picture for video playback while multitasking. It will be available in a range of new colours including an more premium-looking all-white version for the first time.
A £199.99 Kids Edition of the Fire HD 10 will also be available, including the improved kid-proof kickstand case introduced with the Fire 7 Kids Edition earlier this year. It too comes with one-year of Amazon’s Kids Unlimited content, extensive parental controls, access to a hand-curated, age-appropriate list of websites and the two-year warranty.
The new products are now available for pre-order, shipping on 30 October.
