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What took you so long? Amazon debuts a Kindle Kid’s Edition e-reader

This comes up every time Amazon’s Kindle turns up with anything new: Most of Stuff would get rid of… pretty much all the other tech before giving up our Kindles. And now there’s something for the little ones to enjoy — a new Kindle Kid’s Edition is on the way. And it’s so new that we don’t have official images for it yet.

Constant reader

To be fair, Amazon didn’t have to release a Kid’s Edition. Kids can use the current Kindle hardware just fine but we reckon this is a great idea anyway. The way this Kindle stands apart is the price-tag and then what you’re getting for the price.

The Kid’s Edition hardware clocks in at around R1,900, based on international pricing. For that money, buyers get a version of the current 6in Kindle (pictured above) but one pre-loaded with more than 1,000 books aimed at kids. That little factor alone should be worth picking this one up — we’ve spent far too much on books on Amazon’s store and shudder to think what a thousand kids books would do to a credit-card statement.

Amazon’s also included software aimed at getting the youngsters to read, with gamification and vocabulary building being part of the operating system. Soon your offspring will converse as though permanently given to a verbose and voluminous disposition… or something. Nobody should be obnoxiously loquacious on command, dammit.

The package includes the e-reader, a case (we’ve seen blue and pink cases, because archaic gender separation extends to ebooks apparently), and then a year’s subscription to Kindle Unlimited — which is where those kid’s books live. Amazon’ll also replace the hardware if it breaks within two years — we’d still check the fine print, though. Amazon may be less than enthused if little Johnny keeps dropping it in the pool. The hardware has parental controls, too, so you can be sure that someone hasn’t slipped in 50 Shades of Grey by mistake. Poorly-written erotic Twilight fan-fiction: Just say no.

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