Asus + Disney team up on netbook

If mom and dad bought a netbook, why can’t Junior have one?

Disney is teaming up with the Taiwanese computer maker Asus on a Disney-branded netbook called Netpal, targeted at kids 6 to 12 and due out in late July. As you might imagine, the $350 machine adds a distinctly Disney bent to Asus’s Eee PC with an 8.9 inch display and Intel Atom processor.

The netbooks are encased in “Princess Pink” (with florals) or “Magic Blue” (miniature Mickey Mouse icons). Disney designed a kid-friendly user interface to sit on top of Windows XP. Youngsters can change the desktops with customizable themes, built around Mickey Mouse, Cars, Toy Story, WALL-E and other themes.

A Magic Desktop “gadget tray” has icons for a Disney browser, e-mail and parental controls. Kids can only surf to sites or correspond via e-mail with people approved by parents.

Features include a Radio Disney widget that streams music from the channel in real time. There are other widgets for such things as a digital memo pad, calculator and stopwatch. A photo application lets a kid insert his or her own picture on top of a bobblehead.

The computer has Wi-Fi but no 3G cellular collection. Parents can choose a configuration with a 16 gigabyte “solid state” hard drive or opt for a 160 GB hard drive that adds extra storage but is less sturdy. It weighs between 2.2 and 2.6 pounds.

Though the computers are unmistakably Disney, the designers haven’t quite gone over the top as they did on the Disney Dream Desk PC I reviewed back in 2004. It had an optional 14.1 inch monitor that was shaped like Mickey’s head, with his prominent ears doubling as the computer’s speakers. There were also Mickey Mouse ears on the mouse.

Because the Netpal design is, shall we say, a little more subtle, the kids may not want to retire it so fast as they get older. Netpals will be available Toys R Us, and Amazon.com.

Source: USA Today

 

::Commits Seppuku::

 

That's what i'm thinking too

I'd bet these "netpal" netbooks are the left-overs or overstocked eeepc 900s that didn't sell and Asus simply repackaged them with a mickey mouse logo to attract the kids market.

 

Princess Pink FTW

http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/disneynetpalprincesspink-large.jpg

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Disney-and-ASUS-Launch-bw-15545941.html?.v=1

Full specs at that URL^

 

Forget Disney. They need to partner with Sanrio and sell Hello Kitty netbooks!

 

Where is my 1005HA~!~!~!

I dont want a princess pink netbook, I want my 1005!

 

Hello Kitty FTW!!!

 

Actually saw that on engadget and then quickly closed the browser to keep my asus from BSoD'n.

 

LOL, Disney netbooks fries comps.

 

Whens the animated movie of this story book tale coming out?
I have seen it all now

 

I love the blue!!!!