Nielsen: Your kid wants an iOS device for Christmas, don’t mess it up

Nielsen is out today with the results of a new study to gauge interest in buying mobile devices and gaming consoles leading into the holidays in the United States. Much like last year, Apple’s iOS devices remain among the highest ranking with kids ages 6 to 12, while the iPhone and iPad also get top spots in the 13+ category.

As you can see from Nielsen’s charts above and below, the full-sized, 9.7-inch iPad gets the top spot in both categories with 48 percent in the 6 to 12 age group (up from 44 percent last year) and 21 percent in the 13+ group. As for the iPad mini, it was less desirable among kids, coming in at 36 percent for kids ages 6 to 12, just behind the Nintendo Wii U and iPod touch in second and third positions.

Approximately half the children surveyed expressed interest in the full-sized iPad (up from 44% last year), and 36 percent in the new iPad Mini. The iPod Touch and iPhone are also coveted devices among these young consumers (36% and 33%, respectively).  Kids are also likely to ask for dedicated gaming hardware this holiday, with 39 percent excited to own Nintendo’s just-released console offering, Wii U, and 29 percent indicating they want a device from that company’s portable DS family.

While game consoles dominated the top spots when Apple devices didn’t, the 13+ age group showed interest in non-iPad tablets with 18 percent of the group interested in buying over the next 6 months. Mobile devices from Microsoft, Amazon, and Samsung didn’t do as well, coming in at under 20 percent for both groups and 6 percent and under for the Surface:

Among consumers aged 13 and older, tablets and full-sized computers were the top electronics choices, with roughly one in five indicating they want to acquire the iPad (vs. 24% last year), any other tablet, or a computer.  Reinforcing the notion that the tablet market is one to watch, non-Apple devices—lead by Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy offerings—proved nearly as desirable as the iPad among teens and adults, while e-readers showed a slight decline in interest from 2011.  Consumers 13 years and older were also interested in purchasing the Wii U, the iPhone and Internet-enabled TVs.