Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition Review: In Depth

Amazon Fire HD 6 Kids Edition review: we check out Amazon’s affordable and rugged child-friendly tablet, which comes packing a year’s Fire for Kids Unlimited subscription and a handy two-year guarantee.

Amazon’s Fire HD Kids Edition tablet is basically the old Fire HD 6 tablet from last year, plus a chunky kid-proof case to slip it inside. However, Amazon has also thrown in a year’s subscription to the Fire for Kids Unlimited service, which includes thousands of games, videos and books, as well as a two-year guarantee in case the cover fails in its job.

For just £119, that’s some pretty stunning value. But let’s take a look at each part of the package individually.

Fire HD 6 and Kid-Proof Case

When we reviewed Amazon’s Fire HD 6 last November, we liked its compact size and sharp HD screen, not to mention the slender £79 price tag. Of course, it’s a much better experience if you actually use Amazon’s services, such as Prime Instant Video and the Kindle Store. Luckily Amazon’s App Store is one of the best apps catalogues outside of Google Play and Apple’s App Store, with a free app every day and plenty of selection.

The Fire HD 6 is well built for kids, weighing just 290g despite its chunky build. The tablet’s plastic shell is already pretty tough and scratch-resistant, but you get a chunky case bundled that can also soak up any shock if the thing ends up tossed out of a pram. Those jutting edges help to protect the screen and convenient holes give easy access to all of the side-mounted buttons.

The Fire HD 6 also boasts some other family-friendly features, such as the ability for parents to set up a profile for each kid and then set limits on what they can do and for how long. It’s an easy way to monitor how much they stare at the small screen each day, and at least that case will protect the tablet when the inevitable fist-pounding strop kicks off.

Check out our full Fire HD 6 tablet review for more info.

Fire for Kids Unlimited

Fire for Kids Unlimited is a great educational entertainment hub for young ‘uns, and you get a year’s free access with your Kids Edition tablet.

Fire for Kids is basically an all-encompassing collection of apps, videos, books and games that kids can dip into as much as they like (up to the parental limits, of course). There’s enough content on there to keep children of almost any age happy, plus loads of interactive books and brain-building tools for parents to enjoy with their sprogs.

On the apps side you get plenty of top-tier titles including Dr Seuss, Peanuts and Disney games, covering everything from ABCs to learning a new language. We’re pleased to see a wide range of TV shows too, including classics like Mysterious Cities of Gold as well as new hits like Adventure Time.

Considering Fire for Kids Unlimited costs £3.99 a month normally, a year’s free subscription makes the Fire HD 6 Kids Edition seriously impressive value.

Two-year guarantee

Let’s face it, put kids and technology together and chances are you’ll end up with smashed screens and crushed motherboards. Amazon’s guarantee is therefore a massive peace of mind. As the company states: “if they break it, return it and we’ll replace it for free. No questions asked.” Nice.

Verdict

Amazon’s Fire HD Kids Edition tablet is something that parents can hand to their sprogs without stress. The tablet’s durable build is massively reinforced with a chunky shock-absorbing case, while the parental controls and two-year guarantee add extra peace of mind. Chuck in a year’s free Fire for Kids Unlimited and the £119 asking price seems more than fair.

Specification

Screen size	6-inches
Screen resolution	1280x800 (252ppi)
Weight	290g
OS	Android 4.4 KitKat
Front camera	VGA
Rear Camera	2-megapixel
Processor	1.5GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A15
Memory	1GB RAM
Storage	8GB
4G LTE	No
Bonus features	Fire for Kids Unlimited subscription