<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Are your kids eager to get their hands on a tablet device? \nYour kids may love their video games, but a recent survey shows the popularity of tablets is surging faster than video game consoles. Although families love gadgets of all types \u2014 the survey also showed that households with kids ages 4-14 own an average of 10 different devices, with kids using an average of five of those devices.\nThis new survey released by market research company, The NPD Group titled Kids and Consumer Electronics: 2012 Edition, shows new trends and stats for families and their mobile devices. \nVideo game console usage rates for children ages 4-14 are still higher than tablets, but this past year saw a strong increase in tablet usage among that age group: with a 13% increase in usage rate in 2012 vs. only 3% in 2011. Tablet usage is most popular among younger children \u2014 perhaps no surprise considering how many videos there are on YouTube of babies playing with tablets. The survey concludes that it would be wise for tablet makers to construct devices to be simple enough for even a baby to use.\n\u201CKids are using tablets to game, watch movies and TV shows, read books and listen to music-even occasionally for taking pictures- so they have embraced the utility of these devices quite rapidly,\u201D Russ Crupnick, senior vice president, industry analysis, The NPD Group said in a statement. \u201COlder kids also use the tablets for social media and communication, which squarely places these devices at the center for discovery and evangelism of new services and applications, as well as for brands and entertainment of all sorts.\u201D\nPortable digital music players (like the iPod) have declined in popularity this past year. Just 35% of households contacted for this survey own those devices, compared to 48% in 2011. \nAttention advertisers: Gaming systems and portable entertainment devices topped the list of devices over which children will have the most influence on future device selection. And when considering a new purchase, \"the type of technology and features offered by a new device is nearly as important as low price and good value,\" the survey noted. \nThe online survey was conducted March 6-21, 2012, to a representative sample of 3,235 male and female adults ages 23 and over whom are members of NPD\u2019s online panel and have children ages 4 to 14 in the household. \nWhat do you think of this survey's data? Do you identify with these answers? Tell us in the comments. \nPhoto courtesy of Flickr, aperturismo."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/08/14/popularity-of-tablets-rising/>