I can’t count the number of times I’ve looked at a netbook and thought, “You know what would make me like this computer more? If it looked like a Teddy Bear.” Mostly, that’s because I don’t know how to count to zero. But it looks like someone certainly thought it would be a good idea to turn a netbook into a cartoon caharacter.

The Bandai Namco Rilakkuma netbook pictured above is actually the second generation version of this laptop. The first model had a lower resolution screen and a lower price tag.

Akihabara News reports the new Rilakkuma netbook has an 8.9 inch, 1280 x 768 pixel touchscreen display, a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z520 CPU. 60G hard drive, 1GB of RAM, and perhaps most surprisingly, a DVD Super Multi Drive which lookslike it doesn’t fit so snuggly in the chassis — which is hardly surprising, since most 10 inch netbooks don’t have room for a disc drive, let alone a 9 inch model.

The laptop also has a 1Seg digital TV tuner for Japan, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Winodows 7, complete with a Bandai Namco custom desktop wallpaper. The laptop should be available in June for 90,000 Yen, or about $994 US. Because Teddy Bears don’t come cheap. And neither do netbooks with TV tuners, touchscreen displays, HD displays, and DVD burners, apparently.

Bandai is launching its second netbook based around a cartoon character. And it looks pretty much exactly like the company’s first netbook, but with a different color scheme and desktop theme. So I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that Bandai’s Rilakkuma netbook is manufactured by Kohjinsha, just like the company’s Gachapin & Mukku netbook.

The laptop has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display, 802.11b/g WiFi, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive. It also has a 1Seg digital TV tuner.

The Rilakkuma netbook is available for about 79800 yen or about $865, which is the same price as the Gachapin & Mukku netbook.

via Blogeee, where you can also see a rathe rodd Rilakkuma cartoon