• NY Times, Tuesday, November 29, 2005 12:45 PM

It appears that Santa's bag this year will be filled with electronic entertainment devices, according to a list compiled by the Consumer Electronics Association with input from retailers and industry analysts. Of the 10 most desired gifts this season, the CEA said the Apple iPod music player and the Xbox 360 game console from Microsoft occupy the first and third positions. Digital cameras hold the No. 2 spot. The results were in stark contrast to last year, when portable music players did not even make the list and video game machines came in a distant ninth. But the popularity of Apple's iPod, which owns more than 70 percent of the MP3 music player market, has changed everything. "Apple has made it into a Walkman," said Dan Miller, vice president of the Cnet.com online shopping service. "Everyone knows now they can take their music with them. The iPod is the digital camera of four years ago; anyone can use one." And the red-hot status of the new Xbox 360 has apparently sparked renewed interest in all game machines.

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