Tech gadgets would likely be on top of the Christmas shopping list of Australians as tech companies take advantage of the changing consumer preference for Yuletide gifts.

Riding on this new trend, Optus announced on Monday that it will offer special prices on the Dell Streak 7 and Acer Iconia A501 tablet computers on the Optus Open Network.

For the Dell Streak 7, Optus will make the device available for $0 upfront on its $29 Optus Tablet plan for 24 months which places total minimum cost at $696. The prepaid plan includes a SIM card with start-up credit for $279.

For the Acer Iconia A501, Optus will make it available at $0 upfront on the $39 Optus Tablet plan for 24 months, which places the total minimum cost to $936.

The Dell Streak 7 has a Tegra T20 dual core processor and runs on Android Honeycomb 3.2. It features a 5MP auto focus camera with LED flash, a 7-inch WVFA capacitive screen, 16 GB internal memory and SD card slot with support up to 32 GB.

The Acer Iconia A501 features a 10.1-inch multitouch screen, mini HDMI connector and comes in both 16 and 32 GB storage capacities. The device uses an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and runs on Android Honeycomb 3.2.

Among younger Australians, an IBISWorld study released last week pointed to the LeapFrog and Vtech as among the choice picks for the Christmas 2011 gift list. The LeapFrog is a $100 iPad-style tablet computer for school-age children.

Other high-tech toys identified as likely bestsellers for the Yuletide gift-giving season are the Angry Birds Knock on Wood Game, Xia Xia Hermit Crabs and BeyBlade Metal Masters.

The gift forecast was made by IBISWorld to help Australian retailers capture a larger share of the shrinking retail market. The study said that the average Australian consumer plans to spend an average of $1,213.22 only for their yearend Christmas holiday spending, which is just a 3.3 per cent increase from the 2010 level.

Another 34 per cent of Aussies said they plan to spend less, while only 20 per cent intend to spend more.

Although the IBISWorld study said that while Aussies may scrimp of gifts for older relatives, those who are expecting gifts prefer gizmos such as the iPod Touch, Nintendo 3DS, iPad 2 and e-readers.

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