Amazon launches Fire HD 10 for kids and 'show mode' dock
They're now available for pre-order.
Amazon has launched two new devices today: one for you, and one for your kids. The former is a charging dock that instantly switches Fire tablets to "Show Mode," its new full-screen Alexa experience that makes whatever's displayed on a Fire tablet more visible to the whole family. In Show Mode, Alexa can display full-screen visuals for schedules, weather forecasts, movie trailers and camera feeds, among others. The dock can make sure Alexa stays in that mode if, say, you use the tablet in the kitchen to display recipes or in the living room to display weather forecasts or to take video calls. Amazon has released separate versions for the Fire HD 8 and the Fire HD 10, and they're now available for pre-order for $35 and $50, respectively.
Amazon's new product for children, on the other hand, is the Fire HD 10 Kids edition. Like the 7- and 8-inch Kids edition tablets, it's pretty much identical to the regular Fire HD 10 tablet released in 2017, save for some key features. It comes with a colorful kid-proof case, a two-year warranty and a year of FreeTime Unlimited, which gives your children unlimited access to shows, books and games for kids. FreeTime also provides robust parental controls, such as the ability to set time limits and total screen time per day.
The tablet's Kid edition is $50 more expensive than the ordinary Fire HD 10, though, and will set you back $200. It's also available for pre-order and will start shipping on July 11th. The Show Mode charging dock will start shipping a day later, on July 12th, and will cost $5 more after the pre-order period. Show Mode itself will roll out to Fire HD 8 and 10 tablets as an over-the-air update on July 2nd.
