Good news for kids with access to an Amazon tablet.
The online retail giant just added a slew of new content, specifically geared towards older kids, to the subscription-based FreeTime Unlimited, an "all-you-can-eat" content service tailored specifically for kids. Until now, FreeTime Unlimited, which costs $2.99 a month for Prime members and $4.99 per month for everyone else, mostly offered content for kids ages 3 through 8.
Now, Amazon has beefed up the service with thousands of videos, educational apps, games, and books that should appeal to kids ages 9 through 12, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Monument Valley, iCarly, Star Trek, and more — "ensuring FreeTime Unlimited content grows as your kids grow," the company said. The new batch of content also includes books like The Black Pearl and Harry Potter; games and apps like Temple Run: OZ, American Girl, Barbie, and Hot Wheels; and videos like RL Stein's The Haunting Hour.
With these new additions, FreeTime Unlimited offers more than 13,000 videos, educational apps, games, and books, plus over 40,000 YouTube videos and websites for kids from "preschool to preteen," Amazon Kids and Families Director Nate Glissmeyer said in a statement.
Plus, Amazon is also adding some new apps, books, and videos for preschool and younger kids along with a new feature called Smart Filters to give parents more say over what their kids see. Parents can use the filters to adjust the library so that older or younger kids only see content that's applicable to them.
"Younger kids still have the freedom to explore the titles that are appropriate for their age group while older kids get to play Monument Valley and see other cool videos, apps, games, and books that are just right for them," Glissmeyer said.
Smart Filters will be available for fourth- and fifth-generation Fire tablets, including Fire Kids Edition, via a free, over-the-air software update rolling out starting April 27. FreeTime Unlimited is available exclusively on Amazon Fire tablets and Kindle ereaders.