Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition Comes With 1-Year FreeTime Unlimited Subscription

Amazon has just introduced a new Alexa-powered speaker that’s targeted at young users. Called the Echo Dot Kids Edition, the all-new Amazon smart speaker is a child-friendly device with a brightly colored protective case.

On Wednesday, the Amazon product page for the Echo Dot Kids Edition went live, revealing all the important details about the $79.99 device. The new smart speaker comes with a protective case that has three color options: Blue, Green and Red. Preorders are now open, and the product is expected to ship on May 9.

“Now Alexa is a kid-friendly DJ, comedian and storyteller — and she’s always getting smarter. Just ask and Alexa will play music, answer questions, read stories, tell jokes and more — all with younger ears in mind,” Amazon said in the product description for the Echo Dot Kids Edition.

The new device comes with a one-year FreeTime Unlimited subscription. FreeTime is the subscription service with child-friendly features and parental controls that’s previously only available on Fire, Kindle and Android devices. Amazon is, however, bringing FreeTime to Alexa via a software update, which is rolling out on the same day when the new Echo Dot Kids Edition starts shipping, as per Android Police.

With FreeTime, users of the Kids Edition smart speaker will have access to hundreds of hours of fun and educational content, including Audible books and ad-free radio stations and playlists. FreeTime will also give kids access to thousands of songs and numerous kid-favorite games and skills from Disney, Nickelodeon, National Geographic and more.

While the first year of FreeTime use on the new Echo Dot Kids Edition will be free of charge, parents should be aware that the service will automatically renew and charge them $2.99 per month plus applicable taxes once the free subscription expires. There is an option to cancel the subscription though and it is found on the Amazon Parent Dashboard. Another way to cancel the service is by contacting Customer Service.

Because the device is designed to be child-friendly, parents shouldn’t worry about the content their kids will have access to while using it. Amazon says the Echo Dot Kids Edition filters explicit songs and mature content. Furthermore, voice shopping is turned off so unexpected purchases are not possible.