Will Findlater, editor of electronics guide Stuff, says that the new iPod Touch has almost all of the functionality of the wireless communications handset, the iPhone.
But its real allure could be as an affordable portable gaming solution - which puts it in direct opposition to products from Nintendo and Sony.
The manufacturers of the DS and PSP respectively have had "big portable gaming hits" in the past, says Mr Findlater, but the iPod Touch is predicted to take that space in the market this year.
"It's a combination of things," he says when asked how Christmas products help to capture the imagination of the public.
Those things include the initial product concept, marketing, potential to improve the customer's life experience and a jargon-free, easy-to-understand product.
