By Lisa Eldred

It has easy-grasp handles with rattles and a mirror, and it’s made of durable rubber for easy cleanup of baby drool. Sounds like the average toddler toy, right? It’s the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Apptivity Case, and it’s a protective case designed so that your baby can play…with your iPhone.

Whether you consider such a product a joke or sheer genius, it highlights the trend of immersing kids in technology at increasingly early ages. But tech toys for kids, as with high end devices for adults, are not the single-purpose devices of the last decade. Along with camera and game features, Internet access from mobile devices is increasing. It’s been predicted that, by 2015, 80% of people accessing the Internet will do so from a mobile device.

This means it is critical that you check all devices you buy this year for their Internet capabilities, and take the steps to protect yourself and your family when you use them.

We’ve taken the first step for you–we’ve highlighted some of the most popular devices. But regardless of the gadget you’re looking at, be sure to ask yourself some critical questions:

1. Does it connect to the Internet?
2. Can you browse the Web on it, or is it limited to chatting with friends or playing multiplayer games?
3. Does Covenant Eyes work on it?
4. What parental controls are available?

iOS Devices

Apple has been an innovator and front-runner in the mobile market for years. The iPad alone holds a whopping 65% of the tablet market, and they expect to sell 13 million iPads during the fourth quarter of 2011. These devices will no doubt be at the top of many peoples’ wish lists this year.

The hidden dangers of these devices are very easy to spot. After all, one of the core components of iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads is their ability to connect to the Internet, whether through 3G or wifi. Before you wrap up that iPod touch for your kids, you’ll want to install our web browser app to monitor the websites they visit. Because our app only monitors websites visited through the app itself, you’ll also want to take full advantage of these devices’ built-in Parental Controls. Read our user guide to learn more about setting up restrictions to protect your family on their iOS devices this Christmas.

Android Devices

Apple may have been the innovator in the smartphone and tablet markets, but Android devices are an increasing contender. In fact, Android’s market share of smartphones far outweighs that of the iPhone at 52%. As Android devices tend to be slightly less expensive than their Apple counterparts, it’s likely that they will only increase in popularity.

“There’s no way to look at things except to acknowledge that Android is huge,” says Dave Caswell, a developer at Covenant Eyes. “Regardless of the number of devices, the number of activations, or whatever stat of the day you want to look at, it’s monstrous. And they’ve overtaken iPhone in market share over the last few quarters.”

Built-in parental control options are limited on Android, but it’s easy to monitor these devices with Covenant Eyes. We’re preparing to release an Android app for both phones and tablets that not only monitors websites visited through the default browser but also monitors the amount of time spent using apps.

E-Readers

Originally, e-readers were designed as a more portable alternative to traditional books. Wifi was enabled, but use was limited to downloading e-books from sellers or libraries. However, as smartphone and tablets have advanced, e-reader web browsing capabilities have also increased. Recently, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble made waves with the release of their tablets. At 7″, these smaller tablets are theoretically optimized for the e-reading experience, but e-reading is no longer their sole purpose, or even their primary one, making these devices another potential risk.

There are tools to protect yourself on both of these devices. Covenant Eyes for Android is currently being tested on the Kindle Fire. While Covenant Eyes is not currently available for the NOOK Tablet, it has parental controls to disable the web browser (a feature the Kindle Fire lacks).

If you’re looking at a lower-end e-reader using black and white e-ink technology (such as lower-end NOOKs, Kindles, and the Kobo e-reader), it’s important to remember that web browsing, while imperfect, is enabled on these devices.

Gaming Devices

Much like e-readers, portable gaming devices have increasingly relied on online capabilities. Nintendo’s 3DS even incorporates online elements passively with StreetPass. By simply being in the same area as another person with a 3DS, the systems automatically trade characters in built-in games. And, of course, the 3DS and PlayStation’s PSP and upcoming Vita (due out in February 2012) come with built-in web browsers and chat functions.

The good news is that these devices come with built-in parental controls. The web browser on both systems can be password-protected, and games can be blocked based on ESRB ratings. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with the user manual and adjust these settings before you put the portable gaming device underneath the tree. For more information, read our 3-part series on video games.

MP3 Players

As the mobile device market moves increasingly to multi-function devices, MP3 players are one of the last holdouts of single-purpose devices. The Sony Walkman, SanDisk Clip Zip, and even the baseline iPod players are limited to radio and downloaded music files and feature no wifi capabilities. On the upper end of the price range, however, are the iPod touch, the Phillips Android Connect, and the Samsung Galaxy player, all of which are functionally wifi-enabled smartphones without the phone capabilities.

Careful research before purchasing one of these devices is especially critical. The Covenant Eyes web browser works on the iPod touch, and Covenant Eyes for Android devices is currently being tested, but you’ll still want to be sure to investigate the operating systems and Internet capabilities and enable parental controls on any MP3 player you choose to buy.

Issue 15 | December 2011 | More stories in this issue: Digital Detox | Addicted to Facebook and Paying the Price