Will there be an iPhone under your Christmas tree this year? How about Nintendo Wii -- if you can find one?
Electronics and gadgets -- the useful, the frivolous and the just plain cool -- are among the hottest holiday gifts this year. Besides Apple's iPhone, Nintendo's latest game system and hot games like Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band, there's a wealth of cameras, TVs and entertainment systems and fun accessories out there, competing for our attention -- and our shopping dollars.
As experts debate how strong -- or weak -- this year's holiday retail season might be, there's no dispute that electronics will be among the most sought-after gifts.
The top five wish list items for adults surveyed by CEA were:
How did peace and happiness sneak in there?
Actually, Shawn Dubravac of CEA told The Star Press that those sentimental wishes fit right in with the stuff you can get at the stores.
"We joke, 'Can I get peace and happiness with a gift card?' but the products that show up at the top of our list are products that people believe can bring that peace and happiness," Dubravac said.
He notes that with rising gas prices, longer hours at work and geographically far-flung families, more people are connecting through technology -- particularly during the holidays.
"People will forego the usual visit and videotape the kids opening presents on Christmas morning, upload it and e-mail it to the grandparents and aunts and uncles," Dubravac said. "Family members can still share in those memories."
Not to mention how cool the newest generation of technology is.
We all scream for iPhone -- and iPod
Muncie residents and national experts agree on some of the year's hottest gadgets -- and at the top of their list are the iPhone and Apple's latest variations on the iPod music and video system.Steven Schuler didn't wait until Christmas to get an iPhone. The self-described "huge techno geek/nerd" -- who is manager of interactive media/electronic field trips at Ball State University -- seized the opportunity a couple of months ago.
"When my phone died, I decided that was my chance," Schuler said.
Is the iPhone everything Schuler heard it was? Yeah, pretty much, he said.
"That's my new toy," he said, adding, "Among its features, I think it's the best camera I've ever seen on a phone."
Tom Samiljan, executive editor of AOL's Switched.com, a consumer technology site, agreed with Schuler.
"One of the best products and one of the most generation-crossing is the iPhone," Samiljan said. "It's not only really popular because it's an Apple thing, but it's amazing to see 55-year-olds discover text messaging for the first time. It's another case of Apple being able to introduce technology to a wider audience."
The iPhone's electronic cousin, the iPod Touch, gets top honors from Samiljan.
"If you're talking about the hottest gadget this year, it's hard not to say the iPod Touch," Samiljan told The Star Press. "It's the iPod for anyone who doesn't want to switch (cell phone) carriers and get the iPhone. It's the best touch-screen I've seen anywhere."
Your inner rock star
Amanda Hicks is among those eyeing the iPhone, but since she and most of her friends have cell phone service through Verizon, she noted it's just "not feasible" to switch to AT&T to get the iPhone.Hicks, marketing manager at Minnetrista, is sold on video games like Guitar Hero, however. She bought the game for her boyfriend, David Bradway, but she plays it an hour or two a week.
"It's a healthful way to let off steam and let out my inner rock star," Hicks said, laughing.
AOL's Samiljan agrees with Hicks concerning Guitar Hero, and further suggests the Rock Band game.
"Rock Band is from the same people, who broke away and created their own game with a similar concept to Guitar Hero," Samiljan said. "But it has four or five instruments, vocals, drums, guitar and bass. I think it's going to be a pretty big hit."
Hicks said she's been thinking about Rock Band.
"I think it might be the next big thing," Hicks said. "It lets you play all the instruments. It's really pretty cool."
Rock Band can be played on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but for some gamers, Nintendo Wii is the system to have.
But USA Today reported recently that the retailers can't keep Wii in stock, and the game system was the most-requested in a Weekly Reader poll of 1,000 8-to-17-year olds. In October, 519,000 Wii systems were sold, according to the NPD Group.
Cameras in demand too
For those too reserved to kick out the jams, digital cameras continue to top electronics gift lists. Chris Odle teaches digital camera classes at Jack's Camera Shop."The classes fill up and we're offering more all the time," Odle said. "I think interest is heightened. Older adults, especially, feel pressure from kids and grandkids to share pictures online. But they're apprehensive to begin the search. Once I get a camera in their hands, they see how easy it is to successfully capture their vision."
Has Odle seen a particularly hot camera this year?
"Panasonic cameras," he said. "I can't keep them in stock. We have the mainstays like Canon and Nikon, but right now Panasonic is a great brand."
The demand for consumer electronics is increasing and is only likely to grow, Dubravac said. But can technology and gadgets prop up holiday retail sales?
"Clothes have fallen from the top category of what consumers want and computers have moved into that top category," he said. "It's less that our industry is recession-proof and more that consumers are re-allocating from other industries and more into consumer electronics. Consumers are spending less at the movie box office and buying big-screen TVs so they can have that theater experience in their home."
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