Amazon is launching a subscription service for children's games, videos
and books aimed at getting more kids to use its Kindle Fire tablet
devices.
Amazon.com Inc. plans to announce Wednesday that the Kindle
FreeTime Unlimited service will be available in the next few weeks as
part of an automatic software update.
Amazon said subscribers will
have access to "thousands" of pieces of content, though the company did
not give a specific number. Kids will be able to watch, play and read
any of the content available to them as many times as they want. Parents
can set time limits, however.
The service, aimed at kids aged 3
to 8, will cost $4.99 per month for one child. It'll cost $2.99 per
child for members of Amazon Prime, the company's premium shipping
service. Amazon Prime costs $79 per year for free shipping of
merchandise purchased in the company's online store.
Family plans for up to six kids will cost $9.99 per month and $6.99 for Prime members.
The
Kindle already allows for parental controls through its FreeTime
service. Parents can set up profiles for up to six children and add time
limits to control how long kids can spend reading, watching videos or
using the Kindle altogether. With the content subscription service, kids
can browse age-appropriate videos, games and books and pick what they
want to see. They won't be shown ads and will be prevented from
accessing the Web or social media. Kids also won't be able to make
payments within applications.
Amazon is launching the service as
competition heats up in the tablet market among Apple, Barnes &
Noble, Microsoft and Samsung. Amazon's strategy is to offer the Kindle
at a relatively low price and make money selling the content.
Offering a subscription service aimed at kids helps set the Kindle apart from its many competitors.
"We
hope that our devices are really, really attractive for families," said
Peter Larsen, vice president of Amazon's Kindle business.