All iWant this Christmas...

Toby Cotter, 5, with his sisters Evie, 3, and Drew, 2 , are big fans of their dad's iPhone, iPad and Apple computer. Photo / Dean Purcell

Children as young as 3 are hankering after $1000 Apple iPhones for Christmas, with soaring demand pushing traditional items off their wish lists.

A British survey found Apple gadgets - the iPhone, iPad and iPod - were children's most wanted toys.

Two-thirds of 13 to 15 year olds, half the children between 9 and 12, and one in five between 5 to 8 put an Apple product at the top of their list.

New Zealand retailers echoed the findings, saying the new iPhone 4, which has been on shelves for two weeks, was selling fast to all ages, and it would be a top three present for Christmas.

Tauranga Region Kindergartens senior teacher Marion Dekker said children at kindergartens were fluent on the machines.

She said their desire was not surprising considering how often they mimicked their parents on all types of gadgets.

"For very young children - 3 and 4 - it's part of their learning ... I've definitely seen children in kindergartens picking up and using them and they know exactly what to do."

They knew about taking photos and would re-enact all the functions as a part of exploring their world.

Noel Leeming general manager merchandise Jason Bell said the latest generation of cellphones were no longer just phones - or for going on the internet, watching video and taking photos.

For children they could become toys. "My 4-year-old daughter uses my iPad. She loves painting on it. She's got a cat or dog on there. She talks to it and it talks back."

Children - and their parents, with a wallet - rushed for the devices, and stores could not keep iPads in stock.

The demand corroborated the British survey's findings that old-fashioned toys were falling out of favour on children's Christmas wish lists, Mr Bell said.

"I don't know if they're becoming obsolete, but certainly we're living in a digital era ... and there's a tendency that toys appealing to kids are technological rather than old Barbies."

But Toyworld buyer Repeka Haurua said it was an age-old debate about expensive fads.

It didn't matter what children dreamed of getting in their Christmas stockings - come December, the reality for most was there wouldn't be an iPhone, or a car, or boat, wrapped in a parcel under the tree.

"It's no different than me wanting a Ferrari. I would also like Botox. But if we were honest, in most households there's not enough money. A very small percentage will have their wishes granted," she said.

And electronics could not substitute for family games and outdoor toys, which offered interaction.

"They have play patterns where you can't sit in a corner with no friends, with only your iPad," she said. "A 5-year-old will always want Lego and the latest comic books and trading cards."

The British survey also found that the average child today had 39 toys or gadgets to play with - more than twice as many as their parents did at the same age.

Ms Haurua said traditional toys lasted generations, but the iPhone would be gone tomorrow.