The ‘tablet Christmas’ is with us

As stores in the United Kingdom look to sell a tablet every two seconds between now and Christmas, retailers in Malta confirm that most the popular gift this year for the festive season are tablets - for kids and adults alike.

The competition is between Apple's, Android's and Window's tablets... and the InnoTab and LeapPad for the little ones. Forget dolls, the good old wooden blocks and board games: these are two of the hottest tech toys that are going wild among the kids and which are selling fast off the shelves.

The LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer and the VTech InnoTab Interactive Learning App Tablet are meant to mimic the iPad-style tablet and are targeted to kids aged between 4 and 9.

Both tablets are made of plastic and while the LeapPad comes with a built-in camera and video recorder, the InnoTab has an MP3 music player, photo viewer and video player.

The tablets are advertised as an educational and fun app and their kid-friendly size and rounded-edge shape has won the approval of parents round the world... not least in Malta.

Two toy shops in Valletta and an electronics goods shop have confirmed that these tablets are the most sought after presents for the kiddies this year, selling like hot potatoes and surpassing last year's frenzy.

Handkrafts owner Martin Aquilina told MaltaToday that many customers are mostly choosing between the LeapFrog or the InnoTab as their Christmas gift to the little ones.

"Of course, toys such as Cicciobello and radio-controlled cars are still popular but there is a higher demand for the kiddie tablets," Aquilina said.

He added that action figures such as Batman and Spiderman remain popular among the boys while girls are going crazy for the Lalaloopsy - a rag doll with a modern twist.

"Another popular gift for boys is the Nerf gun... a gun that shoots foam-like material," he said, adding that even though the Barbie remains a common gift, its popularity has gone down.

Games that haven't lost their popularity include family classics such as Monopoly and Snakes and Ladders. But tech toys and rag dolls are not the only presents that children will be receiving this Christmas in their stocking. According to Klamus shop manager Vanessa Fardell, children's books are becoming increasingly more popular as a gift for Christmas.

"People want to give something meaningful, something useful, something which is different from the usual present," Fardell told MaltaToday.

"This also applies to adults. Meaningful items such as mugs and frames are the most popular. On the other hand we are experiencing a decrease in soft toy sales."

Luke Tabone, director at Forestals, confirmed that tablets were being sold for all ages, starting from 8-year-olds and going up to 80-year-olds.

"There is no age for tablets," he said, adding that his store was also mostly selling TV sets and games for the Play Station.

But not all is happy and rosy with the gift shops. The owner of a chain of shops who preferred to remain anonymous complained that they are experiencing a drop in sales.

"Usually sales pick up by this time. This year's sale so far doesn't compare to the sales we had last year during Republic Day. And while it is true that the most popular are the kids' tablets, yet many request 'the cheapest'," the owner said.

The owner added that she couldn't imagine what shops that don't advertise were going through.

"We do advertise but the competition we are facing from the Internet is hindering our sales. The culture is slowly turning towards online shopping. It is a disaster and this political climate is not helping," she added.