Amazon on Wednesday launched Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, an "all-you-can-eat" content service tailored specifically for kids.
Available on the new Kindle FireSee it at Amazon UK and Kindle Fire HD, FreeTime Unlimited is like Amazon Prime for kids, offering up unlimited access to books, games, educational apps, movies, and TV shows for children ages three to eight. The service features thousands of age-appropriate titles, including movies from Barney, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam, and Angelina Ballerina, as well as TV shows like Sesame Street, Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues, Diego, Yo Gabba Gabba, The Backyardigans, Rugrats, Arthur, Reading Rainbow, Caillou, and Garfield.
"Kids will recognize many of their favorite characters like Elmo, Dora, Thomas & Friends, Cinderella, Buzz Lightyear, Lightning McQueen, and Curious George," Amazon said.
The Web giant is offering a one month free-trial of the service to Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HD owners. After the free trial, Amazon Prime members can use the service for $2.99 per month per child, or $6.99 per month per family. Those who are not Prime members can sign up for a monthly price of $4.99 per child, or $9.99 per family.
After parents sign up for FreeTime Unlimited, thousands of content tiles will automatically appear on their Kindle device, sorted by the child's age and gender. Kids can then explore content based on topics, like "princesses."
For homes with more than one child, the service allows multiple profiles so each sibling gets their own home screen and won't lose their place in the movie or TV show they're watching when someone else uses the device. Parents don't have to worry about their child running up a bill or viewing something they shouldn't be, since in-app payments, advertisements, and social media have been removed and all content has been pre-screened.
The service will be available as a free over-the-air software update rolling out "in the coming weeks," Amazon said.
"As a parent it's hard to predict what my daughter is going to enjoy, or which movie she's going to watch 50 times in a row — so I buy a range of content and hope for the best — but I get it wrong frequently," Peter Larsen, vice president of Amazon Kindle, said in a statement. "FreeTime Unlimited gives kids the freedom to explore age-appropriate content on their own and pick for themselves what they want to watch, play or read next."
The new service is an optional addition to Amazon's recently launched Kindle FreeTime parental control service, which offers parents tools like time limits to help manage their kids' screen time. For more on that, check out PCMag's Hands On With Amazon Kindle FreeTime.
Also check out PCMag's reviews of the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, 7-inch Kindle Fire HD, and updated Kindle Fire.