Bippity Boppity Boo, Here Comes a Disney Netbook for You!

A member of the Disney Public Relations team contacted me tonight about an exciting announcement that just so happened to be geared towards me, my family and my audience, a Netbook affectionately known as the Disney Netpal. Being the father of 3 daughters, one who is denying she is still in the princess stage yet still seems to dress and act the part daily, this is exactly the type of technology that I can appreciate.

This princess wedding between Disney Consumer Products and Eee PC manufacturer, ASUS, has resulted in what seems, in my opinion, to be a pretty good Netbook. Specifically designed for kids, it’s pretty obvious that some good time and thought went into the feature set, parental controls and even look and feel of this new Netbook line.

The “boys” version looks like this in “Disney Magic Blue” (you can’t really see it from a distance, but the pattern is actually rows of tiny Mickey Mouse icons):

And the “girls” one as such in a beautiful “Disney Princess Pink”:

Some of the things that make these Netbooks different than others (and if you have questions about any of the features or capabilities of Netbooks, please take a look at my post “10 Things to Consider when Buying a Netbook”) that I found particularly noteworthy are:

• Rugged design including a spill-proof keyboard and ShockShield impact resistant, data protection
• Web-safe
• Unique Disney interface
• Parental controls
• Themed software
• $349 MSRP

The NetPal is designed by Disney’s Toymorrow team, a group who work to develop new engaging product concepts which frequently result in the converging of digital media and toys. The Netpal is a prime example of this vision execution.

Each Netpal has a “Disney Magic Desktop” which is an easy to use user interface that is carefully designed for kid use. The browser is pre-configured with several kid-friendly website bookmarks, the Desktop features a 2D “gadget tray” that helps children easily access and launch applications. The desktops come in a variety of themes including: Hannah Montana, JONAS The Series, WALL-E, Cars, Toy Story, Club Penguin, Vintage Mickey Mouse, Disney Classic Characters, Disney Fairies, and perhaps the most important one for my youngest, Disney Princesses (although she would now say Hannah Montana).

My understanding is that there will be several other creative, interactive and engaging applications included with each Netpal.

For me, however, the most important feature is that of Security and Parental Controls. While I have not had the luxury of testing this new Netbook, the information I have been given suggests that it will be pretty web-safe and with stringent parental controls. Things like email safe sender lists, allowed websites and time/day access controls are present to ensure that children are protected.

I found the specifications to actually not be that bad:

*Subject to system configuration and usage.

Note: Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. Please visit www.asus.com for more details.

For the same price, you can get a much better, more higher-end ASUS Eee PC. I would have preferred a larger screen, 2 GB of RAM, and a higher-rated WebCam. However, some of the changes (ruggedizing & spill-proofing, parental controls and Disney software) warrant the “premium” price. Even at $350, it is a reasonable price to pay for a Netbook.

The Disney Netpal will be available in late July and retailers include Toys ‘R’ Us and Amazon.com. The recommended age group is 6-12 years old. I hope at some point to get my hands on one to test it out fully!

HTD Says: If I hadn’t already equipped my daughters with hand-me-down Apple laptops, the Disney Netpal would be a Netbook I would definitely have on my list.