According to a recent report from market research company The NPD Group, HDTVs and laptops are becoming increasingly popular, while usage of all other CE devices by kids ages four to 14 is stable or down from last year. The study Kids & Consumer Electronics 6, which polled 3,463 adults age 23 and over who had children ages four to 14 in the household, found that 74% of kids in this age group are watching TV (both standard and HD) making it the most widely used consumer devices, while computers (both desktop and laptop) are second at 70%.

NPD Group analysts say that over the last year there has been a notable increase in the percentage of kids going online to visit social networking sites. However, the percentage of kids who use a computer to play a CD-ROM game, or to download or stream music, has declined.

Kids who are using other devices are expanding the range of activities they do on them. For example, there’s an increase in the percent of kids using cell phones for imaging and music, and portable digital music players for gaming and viewing videos.

According to the report, HDTVs and laptop computers surpassed digital cameras last year in the percent of households that acquired one in the past 12 months. Cell phones remained the most acquired CE device with 30% of households with kids ages four to 14 purchasing in the past year.

Eighteen percent of parents surveyed stated they plan on purchasing an HDTV for their kids in the coming year, while only 17% plan on purchasing a cell phone or digital camera.

With the exception of desktop computers, 2010 data shows more households are downloading content to the various devices for kids compared to last year. Portable and console VG systems, cell phones, laptop computers and PDMPs all show a 2% to 3% point increase in downloading of digital content versus last year.

According to the report, four of the top five CE devices owned by kids are all portable, showing that kids’ interest in portability and being able to access entertainment on the go continues to climb. Console video game systems are the only non-portable device to rank in the top five.

New to this year’s study is the ownership of accessories for cell phones, PDMPs and portable video game systems. With 61% of cell phone owners, 66% of PDMP owners, and 88% of portable video game system owners having at least one non-essential accessory, accessories are a source of revenue in the CE market that cannot be understated.