It’s that time of year again! Couples across the country will be indulging in all the roses, chocolate, and manufactured romance Valentine’s Day has to offer. But if a tech lover happens to be the love of your life, giving sexy underwear as a gift just won’t cut it. If your bae is technologically-inclined, here are a few Valentine’s Day gift options that might do the trick:
Before you get to the big day, set the tone by sending your sweetie messages all week long. The Romantimatic app lets you set reminders on your phone so you can send “thinking of you” texts throughout the day. You can determine how often you want to be reminded, and there are pre-written messages or you can write your own. We all get caught up in our busy lives, and Romantimatic makes sure you don’t forget to do the little things that can sometimes matter the most. The Romantimatic app costs $1.99 and is available for iPhone.
Speaking as a woman who loves tech, I don’t know too many of us that still don’t also appreciate a nice piece of jewelry – especially if it comes with smart features and a touchscreen. Tech giant Intel partnered with Opening Ceremony to create MICA – My Intelligent Communications Accessory. MICA is a bracelet that comes in a variety of styles using high-end materials like snakeskin, sapphire, and pearls among other semi-precious stones to create a tech wearable that you’ll actually want to wear. You can get notifications, view your calendar and messages, or find restaurants/shopping in your area, but all that style won’t come cheap: you’ll be looking at close to $500 for the device.
Cuff is another wearables company that is trying to make fashionable and functional devices, with a whole line of smart jewelry that is not only stylish, but can keep you safe as well. Along with notifications and activity tracking, Cuff jewelry can also send an emergency message to a pre-selected contact in case of distress. There are Cuff options that start at $29 for a Fitbit-like band, up to $199 for a ‘Style Package’ that includes a necklace, three bracelets, and a jewelry box.
If your guy also likes a little bling, what better gift than cufflinks that do triple duty? These polished silver cufflinks by Ravi Ratan not only keep your sleeves closed, they can act as a Wi-Fi hotspot and also come with a hidden 2 GB USB flash drive. So one link plugged into your computer becomes a wireless router for instant internet access on the go, and the other link can be used to save and store all of those important files you’re working on. Add your partner’s engraved initials for a personal touch, and this becomes the perfect gift for someone who is all about that startup life. This clever combination of fashion and functionality will cost you $250.00.
But if all else fails, you can’t go wrong with a pair of high-end headphones for any techie, and the folks at car audio company Alpine are trying to change the game with their first offering. With a diamond-shaped design and technology that allows you to “feel the music,” Alpine hopes to compete with the likes of Beats in the marketplace. Tom Yamasaki, president of Alpine Electronics of Silicon Valley, says that the fact that they’re not a headphone company is what will set their technology apart. “We’re passionate about audio and sound… (but) the industry is changing dramatically, and we won’t approach it from (the perspective of) a typical headphone company.” Using TKR3 or full-frequency immersion, there is a transducer in the bridge structure of the headphones (the part that goes across your head), that gives you the ability to create a sound effect that cannot be done by just the speakers that go over your ears. There is also an accompanying app that will allow you to organize your music library into custom mixes based on the type of music you want to hear. Alpine headphones are $299.99, and are available in Apple stores across the country.
If you’re gonna date a techie, you’ll have to get creative when it comes to gifts and go a little further than flowers and candy this Valentine’s Day. Hopefully these suggestions will make sure you get all the romance you deserve on the big night!
Follow tech-life expert Stephanie Humphrey on Twitter.
