Disney and Asus have announced that they will be shipping out a kid-friendly version of Asus’s netbook line in late July.  It will keep true to the netbook idea, as it will be small and will include Wi-Fi, but it will be built a little tougher, in order to handle the abuse that kids subject their electronics to.  There will be a spill proof keyboard, and built in kid friendly applications, plus a customizable Disney interface.  their will also be included parental controls, such as a timer, and approved website database.

There will be two flavors of this mini laptop for kids, a “Princess Pink”, and “Magic Blue”, obviously, one for boys, and one for girls.  Just because this device is geared towards kids, it doesn come prepared to actually perform daily functions that anyone would due.  It comes iwth 1 GB of RAM, and Windows XP.  There is also a built in Webcam.  It is also compatable with many types of media, with 3 USB ports, and an SD/MMC card reader.  The only downside, is that, being a netbook, there is no built in CD or DVD drive, so a portable one must be used, or CD files must be transferred to a USB drive or media card before yuse on the netbook.  Weighing in at $350, it will be by no means a cheap gift for your child, but it is worth the money, as it is a real computer by all standards.