NEW YORK - E-reading devices and ebooks continue to be popular with children, based on the results of a recent survey from PlayCollective and Digital Book World. In fact, e-readers and ebooks will be among the hot technology gifts for kids during the 2014 holiday season. 

Digital Book World is an online educational and news platform, and PlayCollective is a global strategy, research and product group. See digitalbookworld.com and playcollective.com.

According to the survey, more than 45 percent of all parents with children between the ages of 2 and 13 plan to purchase a new device for their child to read ebooks this holiday season. Of those parents who already own a device, 50 percent are planning to purchase a new one this season, up 4 percent from last year, and more than half (58 percent) of these parents intend for the device to belong primarily to their child. 

Findings from the Survey (all below are among families that already own a device and have children who e-read):

---Although tablets have reigned for the past two years, the Kindle e-reader is the device parents most intend to purchase this year (26 percent), perhaps because the growing variety of tablets has splintered the competition. 

---The Kindle Fire was the top choice for 2013, but the percentage of parents choosing the Fire has decreased from 29 percent to 12 percent, likely due to the introduction of the Kindle Fire HD (12 percent) and the Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition (17 percent).

---Kindle products are followed by non-iPad tablet devices (14 percent), the iPad 4 (12 percent) and second-generation iPad Mini (12 percent), and a laptop or computer (12 percent). Purchase intent is lowest for older-version iPads and non-Kindle designated e-readers.

---Three-quarters (75 percent) plan to purchase new ebooks for their children this holiday season, up 2 percent from last year. This increase in purchase intent indicates that digital gifts are becoming increasingly common.

---Parents who intend to purchase new ebooks for their child this holiday season plan to spend an average of $26.14. This amount is up $1.03 from last year's average ($25.11). The increased planned expense for ebooks this year may be a reflection of parents reporting that they spent an increased amount per ebook this year compared to last year ($8.29 vs. $7.00).

---Although parents are spending more on ebooks, they are not necessarily buying more books. Parents' spending habits and holiday budget allow for three books this year, which is the same number as last holiday season.

This data was collected by PlayCollective, in partnership with Digital Book World, through an online survey in October 2014 with parents of 2-13 year olds in the United States. An initial set of questions was asked of a national sample of 1,140 families, and then a subset of questions was asked of 752 e-reading families.

More on Kids and Ebooks

The future of the children's book publishing business will be explored during the 4th annual Launch Kids, a one-day symposium during the Digital Book World Conference + Expo, the largest gathering worldwide dedicated solely to the business of digital publishing. Launch Kids takes place on the first day of DBW (@DigiBookWorld - #DBW15), Jan. 13-15, 2015, New York. See conference.digitalbookworld.com.

Launch Kids --- which will feature PlayCollective and other innovators --- focuses on both print publishers moving into the digital space and digital players partnering with established publishers. The event also highlights new digital products, platforms and channels.

Conference delegates will discover what parents and teachers are looking for in new learning and literacy products, how mobile devices and new technology are transforming how kids interact with content, and what that means for the marketing and development of new digital products for home and school.

Topics and themes at Launch Kids include: Children's Tech, the Year in Review and Trends for 2015; Kids' eBooks and the Children's Entertainment and Educational Media Landscape; Traditional and Digital Kids' Book Marketing; Google for Education; Digital in the Classroom; eBook Subscriptions, from Home to School; What Kickstarter Is Doing for Children's Literature and Children's Lit Publishers; The Art and Business of Digital Storytelling; Fan Fiction and Engaging with Fan Communities; Personalization and the Story; and more.