What’s The Most Wanted Gadgets For Christmas 2011?…Well It’s Good News For Apple, Again!

Written by Christian Milsom on December 13, 2011 · Filed under Tech 

Although unseasonably warm weather continues to hamper high-street Christmas sales, and another recession still looms ominously in the background, people are already well into the mindset of deciding what they would like and it seems that ‘all they want for Christmas’ is a gadget. And preferably one with a small silver Apple on it.

Yes it’s that time of year already when the consumer gloves come off and the annual hotly contested competition for the highest Christmas sales begins. Last year we saw Apple leading the way with the iPad being the most desired gadget followed closely by the iPhone 4 with the Kindle, TomTom Sat Nav and the Sony Playstation Move bringing up the rear. Now vouchercodes.co.uk have surveyed the same number (3,000) of people again and the results show a very interesting trend.

Apple Rules, Again

Whilst last year was ruled by the iPad and iPhone 4 this year’s top two desired gadgets are… the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. It would appear that whilst people may still not have much in their pockets they are willing to shell out for a well known and stylish brand, and that whilst Apple can keep giving their products face-lifts people will still be queuing up to buy them. One also has to wonder how many of the people that received an iPad or iPhone last year will still be wanting the new one this year, but that is a consumer-culture-conversation for another day.

To add further to their gadget dominance (in desirability terms anyway) the iPod Nano also features on the list in 6th position making it the only portable music player on the list, as well as the cheapest. Certainly based on the latter it could well be the biggest seller of the lot this year and just goes to show that in the world of phones and tablets, iPods are still as popular as ever.

Tablets ARE Popular!

In 2001 Bill Gates predicted that tablets would be the most popular form of computers sold within 5 years, and whilst he may have been wrong on the timescale the sentiment of his comment is being proven to be not far off the mark, even if it is his main rival Apple that are making the most of it. Despite being marred by legal claims and counter claims the tablet market has been silently exploding in the last two years as this list shows, with 3 to 4 entries on the list.

We have already seen that the iPad is at the top of the list but it is the Samsung Galaxy Tablet that is the ‘best of the rest’ in 8th narrowly beating the Blackberry Playbook which sits at the bottom in 10th, a result arguably simply because of the wider advertising budget that Samsung appear to have for their tablet. The reason that I said that 3 to 4 of the top 10 are tablets is because of Amazon’s offerings…

Amazon Continue To Build

It is not often that you see what is essentially a retailer/distributor turn its hand to manufacturing in such as fluid and successful manner, but Amazon have certainly done it and done it well. Last year saw the Kindle at third place on the list, and whilst this year it may have been bumped down by 3DTVs it still retains a strong presence with the Kindle Fire in 4th and the Kindle Touch 3G in 5th.

Whilst the Touch 3G builds on the popularity of the Kindle last year, the Fire adds a different dimension to the Kindle lineup and arguably is competing with the other tablets on the list thanks to its internet browsing capabilities and the colour screen. Either way it makes Amazon the second most desired brand this Christmas which is a very high achievement.

Xbox Overtake Playstation

Last year the Sony Playtation Move was over 2 times more popular than the Xbox Kinect running into the Christmas period although at the time I suggested that this could simply have been because the Move was released first, and it appears that I may have been proven correct. Not only does the Sony Move not feature in this year’s top 10 but the Kinect is 7th (perhaps bolstered by it’s family orientated if painful adverts) along with Xbox Live TV which is in 9th. Whilst they are not competing at the the top with Apple at least Microsoft have restored their presence in the Christmas market again.

Conclusion

That only leaves 3DTVs (which are probably more of an ambitious dream for most) to fill up the top 10, which lies as follows:

1. iPad 2
2. iPhone 4S
3. 3D TV
4. Amazon Kindle Fire
5. Amazon Kindle Touch 3D
6. iPod Nano
7. Xbox Kinect
8. Samsung Galaxy
9. Xbox Live TV
10. Blackberry Playbook

What this research also highlighted was the amount of money that ‘Brits’ are willing to spend on gadgets this year, with a sizable £231 being set aside out of the overall Christmas budget of £692 for gadget gifting alone, an impressive 33%. Furthermore 1 in 6 of those interviewed (16%) admitted that they would only be happy with a gadget from one of the leading brands, something which may well lead them disappointed as only a few of those gadgets most desired fit within the £231 budget.

Duncan Jennings, co-founder of VoucherCodes.co.uk, commented on the findings:

“It seems that Brits will be waiting a long time for the presents they want the most this Christmas and may well have to buy the gadgets they are hankering after themselves. Given the current squeeze on purse strings, we are expecting the January sales to start earlier than ever this year, and gadgets and technology can provide some of the best bargains. Planning your approach to the sales will ensure that you get the most of the discounts on offer.”

So perhaps we will be having a more gadget filled New Year than Christmas? We’ll see, but it will certainly be a good Christmas for Apple whatever happens!