I Review Electronics

Across the world, children are making their lists for Christmas. Tech gadgets always appear at the top as youngsters ask Santa for the latest device to play with on Christmas morning. This year, the iPhone 4S has proved to be at the top of the list sharing space with the iPad 2 and edging out Amazon’s Kindle.

The Sodahead website, which sets questions for its users and also allows visitors to the website to pose questions about practice and behavior to other users, asked people to say what gifts they wanted to receive this Christmas. Although some said they hadn’t decided yet, over a fifth said they wanted a tech gadget and of those, nearly 40% said they wanted an iPhone 4S. Coming in second place with 31% was the iPad 2 and the new Kindle Fire got 17% of the vote.

Another survey in the UK has reiterated the popularity of the Apple device on Christmas lists. The shopping website Vouchercodes.co.uk asked users what they wanted Santa to bring them this year. In this survey the iPhone 4S was edged out slightly by the iPad 2, pushing it into second place, but it suggests that the California tech giant should prepare for a bumper Christmas. Experts have said the average budget for Christmas this year is just under £700.

In the US, another poll put Apple in the 1, 2 and 3 spot. The iPad was the most desired device, gaining 44% of the vote conducted by Nielsen asking children aged 6 to 12 what they wanted for Christmas. The iPod Touch came in second with 30% and the iPhone 4S came third. Nielsen surveyed over 3,000 children.

The popularity of the iPhone 4S after its launch in October, where 4 million handsets were sold in its first three days in stores, is making some at Apple think they should be getting ready for devices to fly off the shelves as families buy Christmas presents. Every year new mobile phones prove to be a popular gift at Christmas, particularly as you can get many contracts with free gifts, and give the gift to someone else as a present too. With gifts like Playstations and hair straighteners on offer, this can greatly reduce the amount of Christmas shopping people need to do.

Analysts suggest it is the ubiquity of the Apple brand that makes it attractive. The ability of Apple devices to crossover practice, so attracting gamers as well as music fans, to be able to keep people in touch via social networking and to be a browser in their pocket makes many think that buying one device, rather than several who offer different services, is more cost-effective. Apple has spent much of its focus on attracting gamers over the past few years, particularly in the US. The iPod Touch was sold as a gaming device with Apple calling it the funnest ever.

For the iPhone 4S is shows the new device has already hit the top of the Apple wish lists. The iPad topped polls last year but that it is being edged out by the new iPhone 4S suggests features like the improved 8 megapixel camera, integrated iOS5, dual core processor as well as features like Siri and the iCloud are making it a much more popular choice. There have been predictions that the iPhone 4S could top 27 million sales by the end of December. The holiday season, as well as the all-important Black Friday in the US retail market make the next six weeks vital if Apple is to break even more records in the smartphone market in 2011.

Simon writes for Best Mobile Contracts, the UK’s leading mobile phone comparison website and the number one place to find iPhone 4S contracts.