Disney Uses Asus Netbook to Make 'Netpal'

Asus and Disney have gotten together and come up with a Disney-branded Acer netbook, which they’re calling a netpal.

With options for Disney Princess Pink and Disney Magic Blue colors as well as Hannah Montana, Wall•E and Cars themes, the computers will definitely appeal to Disney fans, but what about parents? Specs-wise you’re looking at Intel’s N270 Atom processor (1.6GHz), 1 GB RAM, Windows XP Home, an 8.9-inch display, a 160 GB HDD (or a 16 GB SSD) SD/MMC card reader, 3 x USB 2.0, a VGA port and a webcam. It’s also got a spill-proof keyboard Asus’ ShockShield technology to prevent data loss if your kid has a habit of throwing his or her backpack on the hall floor when they get home from school.

If the press release is anything to go by, the parental controls are actually pretty decent. Parents can restrict email to only allow mail from a few addresses and choose the browsers and the websites their kids visit, as well as the programs they use. These permissions can also be scheduled on a calendar, allowing you to set the time or days your kids can access the internet. 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 and enters the correct password.

Alright, so it sounds like the perfect computer to give to your little boy or girl but how much would you be willing to drop on one? As you guys can tell from the specifications above, it’s pretty much child-proof version version of your average netbook, which means it’s going to have a nice netbook pricetag of $350. Would you consider buying one of these for your kid? Let us know in the comments below!