With the Christmas Holiday season almost upon us, it is time to start thinking about what to ask for and what to give as presents. Despite all the talk about the credit crunch and global recession, shop owners and manufacturers are feeling optimistic for the upcoming shopping season.

Their biggest bet is on the new touchscreen gadgets, which they believe will catapult sales figures, with more and more people willing to spend their money on these types of gadgets even if it means they lose on quality or extra features.

Touchscreen technology has revolutionized the gadget industry this past year, leaving very few devices untouched, even digital cameras were affected.

Such technology has been around for many years, commonly found in cash points and airport monitors just to name a few. Now the technology is a must in consumer products, with Apple’s iphone leading the pack and Googles new Gphone the latest phone to feature multi touch.

Following Apple’s idea, are computer desktops, calculators, mp3 players like the Ipod Touch for example, even watches have touchscreens now that let the users control functions by tapping, dragging or sliding a finger.

Customers want touchscreen devices because they are well designed, are “cool” and have no buttons.

Touchscreen devices have less functionality and degraded picture quality compared with devices that are similarly priced. But customers don’t seem to care as the demand for these devices doesn’t stop rising.