Do your kids want a smartphone? If you represent the majority opinion, then you’re likely telling your children they can’t have a smartphone until they can drive. A SodaHead poll of 1,066 parents shows that 66 percent of them believe kids shouldn’t have a smartphone until they turn 16 years old. More than half — 54 percent — say a regular cell phone is fine for 13- to 15-year-olds, while nearly a quarter of those polled feel even those kids 12 and under should have a basic handset.

SodaHead published an infographic with additional survey data — including trends showing that the number of cell phone calls made by kids are rising quickly — but here’s part of the data specific to both smartphones and tablets:

Interestingly, nearly the same percentage polled said the 16-and-up age group is also the right time for kids to have a tablet. Given the similar capabilities between smartphones and tablets, that shouldn’t surprise. And I suspect most parents would opt to buy their teen a Wi-Fi tablet due to the lower hardware cost and lack of ongoing data plan. That means the device is more likely to be used at home, where parents can keep a closer eye on what online activities kids are engaging in.

I’m curious to hear what our readers think of smartphones, tablets and kids. Because I’ve been reviewing mobile devices since my kids were just a few years old, my children are used to seeing a large number of cell phones, smartphones, and, more recently, tablets in the house. As a result, they’re on the younger side of the scale when it comes to using mobile technology and don’t represent the average household.

My wife and I decided that both kids would wait until the age of 10 before getting a phone. We find it helpful for them to have the ability to call us as needed, especially since one of them walks to and from school. But after seeing what I could do with a smartphone, both wanted to do the same, so neither started out with a feature phone. My stepdaughter took over my iPhone 3GS contract with a new phone number when I left iOS in early 2010, for example. My son ended up with an iPhone 4 when it debuted last year.

Both were into iOS apps, but eventually they got a pair of Android devices: the Sidekick 4G, which my son helped me review earlier this year. After a few months of using iOS applications, the kids decided that a hardware keyboard was more important to them, because they text far more than they use mobile software, hence the change. Perhaps the more interesting question then is, At what age do smartphone applications become a primary use case for kids?

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Flickr user criminalintent

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Samsung and Google jointly delayed a U.S. press event last week that was expected to see both the next version of Android as well as the first phone to run it, dubbed the Nexus Prime. The actual name may vary based on which network operator carries it, but the Prime is anticipated to raise the bar as a flagship Android handset.

I received direct word of the event postponement and now have an invite for the rescheduled event. As it’s slated for Oct. 19 in Hong Kong, I’ll have to pass on attending, but will have an update after the news hits thanks to a live video feed.

The Nexus Prime has already appeared in a video demonstration that loosely validates some of the rumored specifications, such as a 4.65-inch display with 1280×720 resolution, on-screen software buttons in place of capacitive or hardware buttons, and the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Google Android.

Google’s quarterly investor call took place this week, with CEO Larry Page saying Ice Cream Sandwich was “soon to be released.” Other interesting Android data shared by Page indicates Google’s growing momentum in the mobile market:

190 million total Google Android devices have been activated.
Mobile revenues for Google have grown 2.5 times in the last 12 months with an annual run-rate now topping $2.5 billion
Google Maps has expanded in August by 40 countries, now supporting 130 nations.

Of course, the populations across that many countries often speak different languages. Google Translate for Android gained broader support for an experimental feature that allows two people to converse in real-time, with both speaking in their native language.

 
Conversation mode already supported English and Spanish, but this week gained a dozen new languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Russian and Turkish. The software requires a button press before each person speaks, but can greatly assist when visiting a foreign country.

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