According to a survey done by Nielsen, U.S. consumers aged 6-12 are significantly more interested in purchasing Apple’s iOS products over the next 6 months. The new Nintendo Wii U took the #2 spot, but lagged well behind the iPad. Meanwhile, the iPod Touch, iPad Mini and the iPhone rounded out the rest of the top 5 most wanted products for this age group.

Approximately half the children surveyed expressed interest in the full-sized iPad (up from 44% last year), and 36 percent in the new iPad Mini. The iPod Touch and iPhone are also coveted devices among these young consumers (36% and 33%, respectively). Kids are also likely to ask for dedicated gaming hardware this holiday, with 39 percent excited to own Nintendo’s just-released console offering, Wii U, and 29 percent indicating they want a device from that company’s portable DS family. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 also proved appealing, with approximately one-quarter of kids 6-12 saying they want these high definition consoles.

Nielsen also surveyed persons aged 13+ and found the iPad also topped that list. The remainder of the 13+ year old list was less dramatically in favor of Apple than the 6-12 year old group.

In a separate survey of (presumably) adults, Reuters found that one third of U.S. consumers were thinking of buying a tablet this holiday season. Amongst those who wanted a tablet, the iPad was again the most popular with 25% of respondents planning to purchase one. Second and third place went to the Kindle (15%) and Samsung (15%) tablets. Finally, Apple’s new iPad mini came in at 8% amongst respondents.

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The Curiosity rover comes complete with a mini chemistry lab. It’s designed to analyze the composition of Martian soils and Martian air. And, right now, that particular piece of equipment is at the center of a giddy storm of activity. Curiosity has turned up something important — big enough for Curiosity’s principal investigator to tell NPR, “This data is gonna be one for the history books.”

What is it? NASA’s not telling just yet. Right now, researchers are in the process of verifying said exciting data, in order to make sure they aren’t deceiving themselves into thinking they’ve spotted something that isn’t really there. That’s pretty good policy, given the recent flap around over-hyped studies about Earth-like planets and arsenic-based life.

On the other hand, if you’re trying to avoid overhyping something, might I suggest that “We have groundbreaking, world-changing data that we can’t tell you about yet,” is maybe not the best way to do it.

Stay tuned.

Pictured: A 360-degree view of Mars, taken by Curiosity on October 5th, from the location where it first started collecting samples of rocks and dirt. NASA/JPL