Amazon is introducing a new Kindle device: Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition. The hardware is nothing special to write home about: A run-of-the-mill Android tablet with a 6″ screen. What makes it special is the complete package that includes a kid friendly case, a no questions asked replacement warranty, and a year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited. What Amazon is telling parents (and grandparents) is that you can buy this package and then never have to worry about the device breaking or worry about buying apps. Everything is included for $149. I think this will be bestseller for the holidays.
If you develop apps for kids you should take notice of this new device. Make sure your apps are available on FreeTime Unlimited.
Unlimited apps is of course Amazon’s way to devalue apps similar to what they have done with Kindle books. Make no mistake of what side Amazon is on. Hint: it’s not app developers or book authors. But can you afford not to participate? If your competitors are on Unlimited, customers will select their apps over yours.
One way to reduce the risk of selling on the Kindle platform is to do multi-platform development. I think this can work especially well for kids educational apps. Take a look at Unity for this. Since version 4.3 they have a complete system for developing 2D apps. For an introduction to Unity check out Brian Moakley’s epic video tutorial series on www.raywenderlich.com.