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Top 9 mini laptops for kids and for school

By Mark , updated on June 4, 2014

If we think about it, the entire netbook frenzy was set off by a couple of netbooks for kids, built by Intel especially, named Classmate PC. The initial plan was to give kids at school their own laptop, with only a few basic features, but which would put them on the right path in the digital world. But major computer manufacturers picked up the scent and before you know it, there are hundreds of netbooks to choose from.

Netbooks and mini laptops for kids are still very popular, with many schools buying them for pupils. But even around the house, while mom and pop fool around with a MacBook Air, many kids have their own computers, being IT literate from a very young age.

Kids learn a lot between the ages of 7 and 14, basically through primary and secondary school. In this interval, if played out correctly by parents and teachers, children are entitled to learn how to use a computer, considering how important these skills are. But make sure that the machine you choose for your kid or your students suits their age and their general abilities when it comes to interacting with the environment.

  • A kid’s computer should be resistant. Imagine your 10 year old imitating Ben 10 using your precious MBA or Vaio as a boomerang. Many laptops and netbooks out there are very tough and sturdy, usually having a plastic finish. This way, play related accidents won’t destroy the machine from day one.
  • Less is more. Go for a 10 inch or 11.6 inch netbook for your child, as it’s much easier to carry around than a 15 inch behemoth. Most netbooks weigh around 1 kg (some even less than that) and won’t be too much of a bother to be carried around in the rascal’s backpack.
  • Limit the access the child has online. We won’t get preachy now about the Internet, but there’s helluva lot of content out there that’s not appropriate for a 9 year old. There are many free tools for limiting the access to sites with adult or violent content which you can install on any computer.
  • Similarly, make sure you’re the administrator of the computer. This way, the kid won’t be able to install whatever he wants at any given time, like video games or other potentially harmful apps.
Make sure to always check the content your kids are viewing online

Make sure to always check the content your kids are viewing online

Best netbooks for kids aged 7-14

A top choice is Asus’s and Disney’s line of Netpals, which are 9 inch netbooks which come with a Disney inspired design and content. The machine comes in either pink, for girls, or blue, for boys, and packs a Atom processor, good enough to give your kid access to apps like drawing, watching cartoons and more. The device also comes with interesting software, namely videos and games from Disney, as well as a very intuitive user interface, that will educate children to navigate between menus, screens and doing other basic tasks.

There is also a suite of elaborate security features that limits the access to web sites and you can always add pages you think are harmful. The machine comes with a web cam, built in microphone and enough storage, 160 GB, to keep cartoons and the Beethoven series of movies in one place.

Asus plus Disney=Netpal

Asus plus Disney=Netpal

The Asus 1015B is a 10 inch netbook with a AMD Fusion CPU and built in HD graphics. This is essential as it will run cartoons and animations, as well as being good enough to play Flash games, many of them aimed at a very young demographic.

The device is also quite light and thin, being 1.4 kg heavy, being relatively easy to carry around. The design is not as fancy as the one on the Netpal, but that’s also reflected in the decent $289 price tag.

Another Asus netbook suitable for kids is the 1001PXD, which has a very nice seashell, white finish and has a battery life of 8 hours, making this a very good choice for a school netbook. Many schools allow their pupils to use a netbook for taking notes and this Atom powered 10 incher can do just that.

It has a relatively large keyboard and a multi touch track pad, being easy to use even by kids that are just starting to learn how to use a computer. The 1001PXD is also one of te cheapest netbooks around, having a base price of 259 bucks.

The Toshiba NB505 packs the same hardware as the 1001PXD, but has a more dark, matte design that will stay clean for a longer time, as fingerprints will not be very visible. The NB505 also has a very good battery, covering the duration of a school day and has a decent price of $268.

Toshiba NB505

Toshiba NB505

Papaya Milk. Strawberry Yogurt. Banana Cream. Blueberry Shake. These are the color options of Acer’s Aspire One Happy 2 line of netbooks. They have the ever popular water drop design on the chassis, together with a very bright and funny lid. The color scheme is present also on the touch pad, making for a nice contrast with the white keyboard.

As for the Atom hardware inside, the machine can deal with most apps that might be necessary for a kid, like taking notes, watching videos or browsing the web. Luckily, the Happy 2 keeps the low price line of the previous netbooks and goes for only $279.99.

Acer Aspire Happy 2 line

Acer Aspire Happy 2 line

Netbooks for +14 years

Basically, in this category, you can for any type of laptop and netbook, as kids should be mature and strong enough to deal with a larger/more complex computer.

Of course, a MacBook Air is always a nice touch, but if that’s too expensive, you can go for 12 incher like the Asus 1215N or 1215B, which pack decent hardware and are also capable of running more complex games and HD video. Alternatively, you could think about touch screen tablets as well, as they’re much more intuitive and kind of hip :).

Wrap up

From the current selection of mainstream netbooks, the ones we mention in this article would fit a kid for many reasons. They’re pretty tough, quite cheap and good enough to run apps that your child might need for school or some fun at home. There’s no point in spending $1000 for a top notch mini laptop, considering the young user doesn’t need all that fire power.

Also, you might want to keep an eye on the projects going on at school, as many primary schools offer specially built computers (with touch screens, stylus, dedicated software) for pupils. What you should keep in mind, nonetheless, is that kids should spend lots of time outside as well, not only in front of a computer. We say this from the bottom of our geek hearts 😛

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Mark is an Editor here at tlbhd.com . He's studying Screenwriting and Production in "sunny" London and in his spare time, he works as an IT editor for a couple of mobile publications, like this one.

1 Comment

  1. Anonymous

    October 3, 2011 at 11:29 pm

    The Disney Netpal (aka Asus MK90) also can come with a 16GB Flash_Con Mini PCIe SSD. 

    It’s the less supported version of the model but is a little lighter and less worry about drive failure from being knocked around.  However, it’s not that fast of a SSD and performance can stutter from time to time as the SSD struggles to catch up.

    Casing uses similar design to the larger 1005 and later seashell case design.  So it’s hard to take apart but is possible to upgrade if willing to disassemble. 

    The keyboard is better than previous 8.9″ Eee PC because the system is wider and thus supports a less cramped layout.  The Keyboard itself has a protective membrane  beneath it that helps prevent damage from accidental spills.

    Rest of hardware is basically same as first gen ATOM Eee PC’s.  So it has a N270 1.6GHz ATOM and has Asus Super Hybrid Engine and Boot Booster features. 

    Properly optimized it can still do most things kids would like to do but the packaged software does make the system even slower.   Thus why I pointed out it can be upgraded a bit but requires a little technical know how on the parent’s part.

    Mind that except for the Classmate PC series none of the listed systems are really rugged.  So kids can still destroy them if they are too rough.

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