Disney Mobile goes live

Disney Mobile is now selling phones and wireless plans on its Web site. Although the new familycentric MVNO has yet to announce formally that it's up and running, the Pantech DM-P100 is now available for $59.99. Another phone, the LG DML200 (pictured here), will launch later in the summer. Individual service plans range from $39 for 400 anytime minutes per month up to $169 for 3,500 anytime minutes. Family plans start at $59 for 450 anytime minutes and go up to $249 for 4,500 minutes. It's all a bit expensive, and there seems to be a litany of fees involved as well. They include 10 cents per text message, 25 cents per multimedia message, and activation fees of up to $35 per line. We'll have to see if such services will be offered in a bundle. Also, while the coverage through Sprint's network is nationwide, off-network roaming charges are 40 cents per minute. You do, however, get free nights and weekends.

By anyone's estimation, Disney Mobile should be a hit. Unlike many kid-friendly cell phones, Disney Mobile's handsets come with a wealth of features, including a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, and voice dialing. This means parents can take advantage of the high-end feature while Junior isn't stuck with a dinky phone that everyone at school will tease him about. And to help kids learn to use those features responsibly, parents can set when the phone is used and which numbers it can call, determine spending allowances for both calls and messages, locate their kids with GPS capabilities, and send family messages. The controls can be set through an online interface or on their child's handset. To top it off, the handsets feature access to Disney content and a Disney-designed interface. We'll report back more when we have a handset in our hands.