Amazon has launched a new Echo Dot Kids Edition, which might appeal to more than just the younger members of your household thanks to its colourful design.
Based upon the fabric-covered 3rd-gen Echo Dot hardware, which was 70% louder than the previous iteration, the new Echo Dot Kids Edition offers a new rainbow colour scheme as well as a blue option.
As with the other kids-themed devices in Amazon’s hardware line up, such as the recent Fire 7 tablet, the Echo Dot Kids Edition also features a one-year subscription to the FreeTime Unlimited service.
That’ll offer tonnes of kid-friendly content, including Auduble books and podcasts, Flash Briefings from the likes of National Geographic, a Word of the Day and a new interesting fact. There’s also dedicated Alexa Skills from the likes of Sony and Disney. Elsewhere, FreeTime Unlimited also enables users to create their own skills using the Alexa Skill Blueprints.
FreeTime Unlimited isn’t completely… erm… unlimited though. It allows parents to place time limits on device use time, the ability to filter out songs with rude lyrics and provides an activity review.
The device is available to pre-order in the United States today with shipping commencing on June 26. The company is also offering the speaker at a discount in the US right now. It’s $49.99 instead of $69.99, a saving of $20.
Amazon launched a Kids Edition of the previous generation Echo, but it received mixed reviews, mainly due to the privacy concerns. Amazon has sought to play down the fears by pointing out that everything must be approved by parents, and that there are easy ways to delete recordings.
The company says: “To access FreeTime on Alexa, verifiable parental consent is required. None of the Alexa skills included within FreeTime Unlimited have access to or collect personal information from children, and there are multiple ways to delete a child’s profile or voice recordings. Parents can review and delete recordings through the Alexa app or the Alexa Privacy Hub, and contact Customer Service to request deletion of their child’s profile.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.