You want to get your youngsters an Amazon Fire Tablet, but which version is right for you?
The Amazon Fire Tablet 7 is a great buy at $50, especially for the kids. It’s capable enough to keep them entertained while not costing enough to pull your hair out if it gets accidentally destroyed. You can also get all the (non-Google) major content services on there as well as a dedicated kids mode to keep those little fingers from buying a new laptop on your Amazon account.
But, when you go to buy, there’s both a ‘regular’ 7-inch and a Kids Edition. Underneath they’re both the same, 7-inch Amazon Fire tablet with the same hardware specs and the same software. So what’s the difference and which should you buy?
Let’s break it down.
What’s the difference?
When you spend $50 on the standard Fire Tablet what you get is the 8GB model with special offers, meaning ads on the lockscreen. And that’s it. No case or added extras, just the basic tablet and a charger in a choice of your preferred color.
When you buy the Kids Edition, it costs more at $100 but with that you get the 16GB tablet, also with a roughty toughty kid-proof case to keep it nice and safe during those inevitable falls. Amazon also throws in a “no questions asked” two-year warranty, so if the worst does happen, you just send it back and get a new one. The Kids Edition also comes with an included subscription to Amazon Kids Unlimited, its own service that makes managing what the kids can access a breeze. To use it on the regular model you have to pay extra.
Value added
The biggest thing to consider when thinking about getting the Kids Edition is the value added inclusions Amazon gives you. The case itself retails for $25 if you buy it separately, the 16GB tablet costs $70 and then there’s the Kids Unlimited subscription on top.
If you buy the basic $50 Fire Tablet you’ll have pay extra for each of these, and you won’t get a two-year warranty, either.
Different cases
You don’t just have to get Amazon’s case to protect a Fire Tablet from the kids. The Freetime is no doubts a tremendous case that’s friendly to small hands while still allowing easy access to all the ports and buttons.
There are a number of cases available at various prices though that will do just as good a job. So you can protect a Fire Tablet and give it to your little ones if it’s not just for them.
It’s not inconceivable you might want to use it yourself from time to time!
The best kid-proof cases for the Amazon Fire Tablet
So which should I buy?
If you’re purely buying a tablet for your kids, spend the extra and get the Kids Edition. It’s worth the investment, not least for that worry-free two-year warranty. But it’s a single purchase that comes 100% child-equipped, with that tough as hell case and the included subscription to the kids content.
You can provide the same experience by buying a regular Fire Tablet at $50. But you should probably only get one of those if you’re going to be buying for an older child/teenager or it’s going to be used by yourself a decent amount of the time. If that sounds more like your scenario, then this option is for you. Buy a more grown-up case and slap in a microSD card and use it like a grown-up would!
See at Amazon
