Menu
Big 2012 Christmas toys and gadgets revealed

Big 2012 Christmas toys and gadgets revealed

Children's tablets expected to be huge again this Christmas

Tablets for children will be a big seller this Christmas - with two of last year's biggest kids' tech gift gadgets leading the way in 2012.

While more expensive Apple iPads will be found under many Christmas trees influential holiday The Toy Insider has other children's tablets on its Hot 20 List for 2012.

"It's going to be the war of the tablets," said Laurie Schacht, chief executive and president of Adventure Publishing, which issues the Toy Insider Hot 20 list.

On the list is the new version of Leapfrog's LeapPad kids' tablet. See: LeapPad 2 review

"What the LeapPad 2 has done is it has really positioned itself not to be part of that tablet war but to be an item for younger kids that gets them ready to move into the older tablets," says Schacht.

The Toy Insider is a holiday gift guide from a US publisher serving the toy and licensing industries.

It isn't alone in talking up the LeapPad 2. Major toy sellers Walmart and Toys R Us also put the tablet on their lists of top toys for the 2012 holiday season.

Last year the first edition LeapPad sold out in the run up to Christmas.

This year the updated version of the £89.99 tablet has a faster processor, double the memory and an extra camera on the front.

One of the LeapPad's big kids' tablet rivals, VTech's Innotab has also been updated recently. See: VTech InnoTab 2 review

Toy Insider's list includes the LeapPad 2 in its Hot 20 List of toys for three-to-five year olds, but prefers the Kurio 7 tablet from Techno Source for children who are 6 to 8 years old. See: Kurio 7 tablet review

Reuters reports that in 2011 the fourth quarter accounted for 46 percent of LeapFrog's annual sales.

See also - Group test: Best tablets for children

At large toy makers Mattel Inc and Hasbro Inc, more than 30 percent of annual sales come during the final quarter of the year.

Other toys on the Toy Insider list include: the Lego Friends Heartlake Stables, a Lego set geared toward girls. A new high school playset for Mattel's Monster High is on lists from Toy Insider and Walmart. Activision Blizzard's Skylanders series of videogames and action figures is on the Toy Insider list and the Toys R Us list after a strong 2011 launch, with the Skylanders Giants coming out this year.

The most expensive product on the Toy Insider list is Nintendo Co's Wii U videogame console (due November), which will cost from US $299.


Follow Us

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments