Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition with FreeTime Unlimited Michael Kwan April 26, 2018 News Somehow I get the feeling this is going to be a rather divisive kind of product announcement. Some parents will be concerned for their children’s privacy and safety; other moms and dads might finally sigh of relief. Whatever the case, the new Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition is here and it’s pretty much exactly what you think it is. Just like the Kids Edition versions of the company’s Fire tablets, the Echo Dot Kids Edition takes the regular Echo Dot, wraps it up in a protective case, and “skins” the experience to make it more kid-friendly. And it comes in three different colors, so there’s that, plus two years of the worry-free guarantee. They bust it, you return it, and Amazon replaces it for free. The Echo Dot Kids Edition has the same guts as the regular Echo Dot, but it comes with a special version of Alexa for kids. This works in tandem with what they’re calling FreeTime for Alexa and FreeTime Unlimited. One part of this is filtering out certain content. Your children won’t be able to call up an Uber, for example. The parental controls with FreeTime for Alexa works similarly to the kids mode you find on something like the Fire HD 8 Tablet too. Parents can set content filters, establish daily time limits, pause Alexa so kids can do their homework, set bedtimes and so on. Explicit songs are filtered out of Amazon Music and kids are rewarded for saying “please” when they ask Alexa something. Bundled in with the Echo Dot Kids Edition is your first year of FreeTime Unlimited. This grants you access to over 300 kid-friendly Audible books, as well as plenty of “kid-favorite” songs, games and skills from Disney, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, and so on. After the first year, the subscription costs $2.99/month. The Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition is listed for $79.99 with a projected launch date of May 9. That’s a $30 premium over the regular Echo Dot, but you do get the protective case and one year of FreeTime Unlimited. While you’re there, you might consider picking up the Fire HD 10 Tablet. It’s currently discounted down to just $99.99 for the 32GB model, a savings of $50 off the regular list price. Share This With The World!
