If you have kids and an Amazon Echo device, there's a good chance you've experienced the hilarity / horror of them accidentally finding some expletive-laden song just by their requesting goobledeegook. So a new Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition will be music to the ears of tech-savvy parents.
Launching in the US first (we'll have word on global availability as soon as it is announced), it costs $79.99 – considerably more expensive than a standard Echo Dot. However, it does come with some unique, child-friendly perks, including a two-year damage replacement warranty, a colorful rubber case in either red, blue or green and a year's subscription to the FreeTime Unlimited kid-focussed service.
With Alexa, FreeTime Unlimited lets parents leave their children in the capable hands of a selection of expletive-free radio stations including IHeartRadio Family, 300 appropriate Audible audiobooks and tailored premium skills from Nickelodeon, National Geographic and Disney, including alarms that sound like characters from their favorite shows and movies.
Staying safe
FreeTime Unlimited costs $2.99 a month, but the device won't simply stop working when that free subscription runs its course.
If you choose not to renew the FreeTime Unlimited service, you can roll back to the basic free service which, like FreeTime Unlimited, lets you block Alexa features such as shopping, news reports and access to third party skills and audio services. You just won't get all that curated kids content from Amazon's major partners.
Other than that, it's your standard Echo Dot, with seven far-field microphones for directional voice capture, a built-in speaker and the option of hooking up to a more impressive playback device over Bluetooth or 3.5mm jack cable.
Pre-order open today, with shipping starting on May 9.
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