AZTV7/Cable 13 & RTV 7.2/Cable 93, Phoenix-Prescott, AZValentine’s Day tech and gadget gift guide

Valentine’s Day tech and gadget gift guide

By Nick Mokey
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The malls are doused in red, hearts keep cropping up in every display window, and a nonstop barrage of jeweler's commercials implore you to buy something shiny. Valentine's Day must be just around the corner. While you could always make the last-minute dash for chocolates, buy flowers out of a bucket on your local freeway off-ramp, or rack up a four-digit credit card bill for something in a red velvet box, we're of the opinion that gifts that get used every day are the ones that get remembered. And these days, that means all things high-tech. With that in mind, check out some of these practical but luxurious tech gifts to spoil your special someone with this year.

For Her:

Apple iPod Nano $149

It may not be the most creative Valentine's Day option, but think of the iPod Nano as the safest bet on our list – the digital equivalent to chocolates. Besides offering either 8GB or 16GB of storage and a full color screen that can handle video, the Nano has recently been updated with a video camera and lower price. Make sure to pick her favorite color from the palette of nine and take advantage of the free laser engraving. Just keep the pet names to yourself – nobody wants a love note from Snookums engraved on their MP3 player.

Check out our Apple iPod Nano 16GB Review.

Jawbone Prime $130

Finding a gadget gift as practical as it is fashionable may be a rare thing in the tech world, but the Jawbone Prime manages to pull off the perfect balance. Now that many states (including Oregon, New Hampshire and Illinois as of 2010) have made driving and talking on a cell phone illegal without a hands-free earpiece, a Bluetooth headset like the Jawbone Prime is a necessity more than a convenience. Critics have consistently praised the Prime for offering some of the best noise cancellation and sound quality in its category, and the unique colors and textures have made it a hit with fashionistas, too. Coffee, black and platinum make great choices for the more conservative gal, or you can really go out on a limb with lime, scarlet, yellow and lilac.

Netflix Subscription $8.99 a month

Skip spending $20 on a pair of movie tickets and plot a month's worth of stay-at-home movie nights with Netflix. Besides saving you money on that popcorn and Hot Tamales, you'll get access to over 100,000 DVD titles. Netflix's $8.99-a-month subscription will let you have one disc out at a time, plus grant access to the company's growing online database of instant streaming movies. Hop online and queue up a few romantic comedies before giving the subscription for that instant satisfaction.

Amazon Kindle 2 $259

If your lady is the type who likes to curl up with a good read – but also take her reading on the go – Amazon's Kindle 2 may be just the answer. The incredibly thin and lightweight e-book reader can hold up to 1,500 books in a purse-sized package, download them from thin air thanks to built-in 3G wireless access with no connectivity fee, and even display formats like PDF. Feeling particularly ambitious? Preload it with one of her favorite books, or one she just hasn't had time to buy yet.

Check out our Amazon Kindle 2 Review.

Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer $50

Capture the high-school novelty of the photo booth again with Polaroid's pocket-sized PoGo instant mobile printer, which uses Zero Ink technology to print photos quite literally from anywhere. She can print wallet-sized snaps from girl's night out before it's even over, or preserve cringe-worthy candid shots of you from across the dinner table on paper forever. Then stick them up on the fridge or in a scrapbook, thanks to the adhesive-backed paper. Purchase wisely.

For Him:

Sony PlayStation 3 Slim $300

Secure your spot in the girlfriend or wife Hall of Fame by springing for one of these home entertainment masterpieces, which are now even cheaper, smaller and quieter than they used to be. Besides giving your guy access to hits like Modern Warfare 2, Assassin's Creed II and God of War, he can play Blu-ray discs, stream movies from the Web, and even play music and other files from a home network. Just be sure to package it with some extra patience for the days he actually wants to spend a few hours blowing up buddies online rather than watching Twilight.

Check out our Sony PlayStation 3 Slim Review.

Klipsch Image S4 In-Ear Headphones $80

Whether your man appreciates Stravinsky or Slayer, if he's listening to it on the same headphones that came bundled with his MP3 player, he's missing half the bass. Give him back the boom with Klipsch's inexpensive but outstanding Image S4 earbuds, which offer surprising low-end grunt for headphones without sounding flabby or distorted, and fit like a glove thanks to unique oval-shaped silicon ear tips. They even come in a sturdy tin for storage, complete with additional ear tips and a cleaning tool.

Check out our Klipsch Image S4 Review.

Adidas miCoach Pacer $140

Need to give a tech-addicted coach potato a (well-intentioned) poke in the gut? Adidas' new miCoach Pacer blends tech with fitness in an all new way, providing the inventive he might need to get out there and hit the pavement. After connecting a stride sensor and heart rate monitor, the arm-mounted Pacer unit audibly coaches you through different levels of cardio depending on your goals – whether you want to learn to jog, lose weight, or run a race. At the end of the day, he can even upload his results to Adidas' miCoach website for tracking progress and even receiving feedback. Unlike the similar Nike+ system, it will also mate with any shoe and any MP3 player on the planet, so you don't have buy a $150 new pair of Nike kicks or an iPod just to use it.

Sony Bloggie CM5 Mini HD Camcorder $200

We've made no secret of our affinity for Kodak's Zi8 when it comes to HD recording, but Sony's new Bloggie CM5 introduces one feature all the competitors still lack: 5x optical zoom. The lens on the CM5 will get you up close and personal without sacrificing 1080p video quality – the usual cost of using digital zoom on cams like the Mino HD or Zi8. And now that Sony has given up on forcing its own proprietary Memory Stick media cards, you can feed the CM5 inexpensive SD cards up to 32GB.

Garmin Nuvi 265WT $230

Any GPS makes an ideal road companion for long trips, but the built-in traffic in Garmin's Nuvi 265WT makes it ideal for circumventing rush-hour traffic around town, too. Better yet: It's totally free for life, and Garmin offers one of the simplest and most reliable GPS interfaces out there. Just make sure he doesn't strand you in the Cascade mountains following its instructions to a tee.

Check out our Garmin Nuvi 265WT Review.