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Here’s the logic. If kids covet their parents iPads and iPhones,  and if Android devices are beginning to catch up on sales of phones and tablets, will kids then want their own Android devices.  Hard to predict, but at CES Kids@Play, Warren Buckleitner, moderated a history making panel that looked at a new crop of mobile devices designed just for kids.

Vinci , a complete learning system tablet for toddlers, announced at last year’s CES returned to announce  a “little vinci” – iPhone sized unit, for half the price.  The Mini tablet will cut the price in half.  Vinci’s focus is on leveraging technology to create a curriculum for kids with clear objective. The company’s CEO has often said that “every child should play their way into Harvard”. An Android with a touch screen, built in camera and WiFi comes with software that teaches everything from colors and shapes, to emotional thinking, to math and music. Priced from $379

Fuhu is a clever Android based device with a 7 inch screen. Designed for a slightly older child, the Fuhu comes preloaded with  Netflix and Angry Birds, both hits for the primary school kids. It has a book reader, pre-loaded music, gobs of math problems, and higher end features including HDMI out , USB, audio out for headphones and a camera.  An Ask Mom button sanctions buying when your child asks.  And Fuhu costs under $200.  Read what the Hollywood Reporter said.

Playbase  Go is another Android tablet with a clean simple design just for kids.  It too has a 7 inch capacitive touch screen and plenty of storage and RAM. The special protective covers for the unit come in various colors and actually convert to a book stand type cover. It’s got a built in camera and comes with its own version of special software including . Of the various devices, it’s capable of showing 3D  and is built to take a beating but still thin and light. Read the Pocketlint review.

LeapPad, introduced this fall is a $99 educational experience from Leapfrog.  LeapPad has quite a few features for the price , a built in camera, creativity like an art tablet, a music player, games, books and more.  The big difference between it and the other devices is that you can’t just download any apps.  The apps must be downloaded by connecting the tablet via USB to a PC and going to the Leapfrog site. Still, it’s tried and true content and was one of the most sought after products this holiday season.  See the live video from CES.

The PlayStation Vita is really a different beast, developed to take play to the next level.  It’s got more of everything: not just one, but two capacitive touch surfaces on both the top and the bottom of the mobile device. It’s got the traditional PlayStation dual analog stick controls, WiFi, 3D and front and back cameras.  This makes it an incredibly diverse game play experience – one that can grow with your child.  Demo games include augmented reality and lovely hi definition games.  See what USA Today had to say about the Vita demos at CES.

Finally, One Laptop Per Child (OLPC XO3)  is a totally redesigned tablet version of the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child that relies on a touch screen rather than a keyboard ). A Linux based device that runs open source games and programs, and a scaled down version of Wikipedia called Wikipedia slices, OLPC is being used mostly in developing countries to provide equal access to computing power. The focus of OLPC, a project of MIT and Nicolas Negroponte is to provide an environment where you can build your own games, explore source code for your applications, create and surf the web. There’s even a hand crank feature to generate power for the machine. Every feature, including a very special looking interface shaped like a spiral begs for exploration. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9675748.stm