Asus and Disney Announce Disney Netpal – Netbook for Kids

Written on Jun 16, 2009 by Brian and filed under Disney, News

Asus more or less invented the current category of lightweight, low-cost portable computers called Netbooks. Disney and Asus have partnered to make the Disney Netpal, a kid-friendly portable computer. The Disney Netpal features more than 40 parental control options, an 8.9″ display, WiFi, Windows XP Home, and kid-friendly software featuring Disney characters. The Netpal will hit retail in July and will start at $349.99.

At launch there will be two versions of the Netpal. The first is the blue pictured above, the second choice has a Disney Princess theme with pink florals. Within Windows, kids can customize the look with 10 themes inspired by popular characters from Disney’s and Disney∙Pixar’s most popular franchises, including Cars, Club Penguin, Disney Classic Characters, Disney Fairies, Disney Princess, Vintage Mickey Mouse, Toy Story and WALL-E. Themes that appeal to slightly older kids, such as Hannah Montana and JONAS The Series styles, are also available.

The Disney Magic Desktop installed on the Disney Netpal by ASUS is an easy-to-use interface specifically tailored to kids, with an intuitive visual interface and instructions that make it easy for kids to operate the computer. Right out of the box, the Disney browser launches numerous kid-friendly Disney websites for kids to explore. The Disney Magic Desktop features a 2D “gadget tray” that displays bold visual icons for easy access to applications. Rounding off the Disney Netpal by ASUS’ fun, kid-friendly features are a collection of 15 easily-accessible widgets, including a stopwatch, digital memo pad, which inserts “reminder notes” on the Disney Magic Desktop, and a calculator.

Additional Disney-developed applications include Disney Mix for music and media management, and Disney Pix for photo customization and organization. The Disney Pix application features fun Disney Bobblehead software, which lets kids insert images of their faces on top of bodies, download them into videos and postcards and play wacky moving dance scenes, for hours of fun. The Radio Disney widget streams real-time music and lets kids simultaneously submit song requests, if they wish. The Disney Netpal by ASUS also includes a driving game, number game, memory game and photo scrapbook.

The Disney Netpal by ASUS is designed to be kid-friendly, both in terms of durability and content permissions. It’s rugged and durable, with a spill-proof keyboard that protects against inadvertent liquid spills. The Disney Netpal by ASUS’ ShockShield data protection guards against data loss when the computer is subject to impact.

The Disney Netpal also allows parents to create a web-safe computing environment with 40 parental control options. Parents can pre-select email correspondence options, browsers, the websites their kids visit and the programs they use. These permissions can also be scheduled on a calendar, providing parents with a convenient, automated means of granting access on the days and times that they choose. Parents can also pull up data to determine where children spent time, and for how long. Additional websites can be added for access, but only if the parent approves and submits the request within the password-protected system.

Disney is a perfect match with Asus to bring affordable “real-computing” to kids. We look forward to the mesh between the two and will report back in July with a full Disney Netpal Review.

Update 11/30/09 - Disney Netpal Review Posted

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