I would like to believe that regardless of one’s status in life – whether one is rich or poor, wishing for a gift during holidays are all the same. As they all say, wishing is for free for everyone.
In this time of the digital age, parents will have more headaches in thinking where to get the funds to buy their kids their favorite digital gadgets. Gone were the days when parents will just have a hard time fighting with the crowd in malls to buy their kids new shirts, dress and shoes. Now with the advancement of technology, our kids would just want their parent’s credit cards and permission, nothing else.
Just to prove my point, the recent survey released by The Neilsen Company shows that 44% out of the 3,000 US children showed indicated that the iPad is the most-wanted gift among U.S. kids ages 6 through 12.
Next to the iPad, the iPod Touch comes in second at 30%, followed by iPhone at 27%. The rest of the survey are as follows: Computer (25%), Tablet computer (25%), Nintendo 3Ds (25%), Kinect for Xbox 360 (23%), Nintendo DS / DSi / DS Lite (22%), Television set (20%), Smartphones -non iPhone (19%), Sony Playstation 3 / PS3 Slim (17%), Blu-Ray Player (17%), E-Reader (17%), Microsoft Xbox 360 (16%), Other mobile phone (12%), Nintendo Wii (11%), Playstation Move (10%) and Playstation Portable at 10%.
Compared to last year 2010, the most wanted gift for kids are the iPad (31%), Computer (29%), iPod Touch (29%) and the Nintendo DS / DSi / DS Lite (25%).
Clearly, the survey shows kids are moving towards portability. They want a device that can bring with them anywhere and a device that can almost do everything. Kids from 6-12 want an iPad for Christmas shows the younger generation are moving from gaming devices to devices that can let them do more things.
I am sure a device that will allow them to communicate with their friends like Facebook and Twitter are among the top considerations. Entertainment is also a factor. A device that will allow them not only to play games but also to allow them to watch videos is only one reason.
I will not be surprised if Filipino children would have the same gift preference, even adults as well would want to own an iPad. But the one thing that is preventing them from owning one is the hefty price of the said gadgets. If I am not mistaken, a 16GB iPad 2 (Wi-Fi only) will be around the range of 20K to 24K, not an easy price tag for an average Filipino income earner.
In the recently concluded 22nd Philippine Advertising Congress, Atty. Felipe Gozon of GMA 7, Eugenio Lopez III of ABS-CBN, and Manny Pangilinan of TV5 all pointed to the web and internet devices as the main game changer for the delivery of content.
All three indicated that the young generations of today will get most of their information through their tablets, phones and other internet devices – especially if these devices will go under US$1,000 or in the vicinity of PhP 5,000.00.
The result of the survey goes to show that nothing is going to stop the internet from being the most imporant technology of the future. More and more gadgets will be connected to the web and more and more people will rely on the internet for information – both for business and personal needs.
And for the Philippines to compete in this digital landscape, our government should really play a major role here by providing free internet access.
I think the new administration should do its utmost best to make the Philippine National Broadband Network (NBN) project a reality soon, minus any controversy of course. Providing free access to Filipinos will be a big advantage to our country not only in terms of wiring most Filipinos but it will pave the way for most of our countrymen to participate in the digital economy. This is my wish for this coming 2011 Holidays.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all readers. I am logging off. Stay cool and God Bless us all!
NOTE: I would like to invite all our readers to attend my seminar this coming December 10, 2011 at the COMDDAP EXPO 2011 to be held in SMX – Mall of Asia. Tickets are available at all SM Ticketing outlets. For more info, visit http://www.comddap.org/
(Article written by Jerry Liao)
