The $50 "ZipIt" device (linked above) is pretty close to what you're describing, although the included OS load doesn't look very customizable, so no custom apps.
It's designed to connect to Wifi and do IM and SMS, not a whole lot else ... but for a lot of kids I suspect that's a large portion of what they want. From a parent's perspective it frees up the computer and avoids having to get Junior a cellphone (and its requisite monthly plan fee) for a while longer.
Apparently ZipIt charges $30/year for the SMS and IM functionality after the first year, which makes me wonder if they're selling the hardware unprofitably, believing that they'll get subscription fees down the road. (That strikes me as a poor business model, since I doubt most of the devices will resubscribe for a second year -- 12 months is a long lifetime for a $50 device aimed at kids that's most likely a stopgap on the way to their own laptop. But I assume they've planned for that.)
I'd guess we're going to see a lot more in that space in the near future; the PC and laptop markets are getting pretty saturated, but I think netbooks have really just started to tap into the ultraportable demand, and kids could be a big consumer.
It's designed to connect to Wifi and do IM and SMS, not a whole lot else ... but for a lot of kids I suspect that's a large portion of what they want. From a parent's perspective it frees up the computer and avoids having to get Junior a cellphone (and its requisite monthly plan fee) for a while longer.
Apparently ZipIt charges $30/year for the SMS and IM functionality after the first year, which makes me wonder if they're selling the hardware unprofitably, believing that they'll get subscription fees down the road. (That strikes me as a poor business model, since I doubt most of the devices will resubscribe for a second year -- 12 months is a long lifetime for a $50 device aimed at kids that's most likely a stopgap on the way to their own laptop. But I assume they've planned for that.)
I'd guess we're going to see a lot more in that space in the near future; the PC and laptop markets are getting pretty saturated, but I think netbooks have really just started to tap into the ultraportable demand, and kids could be a big consumer.