Valentines Gadgets
Gadgets get a bit of a bad rap when it comes to Valentine’s Day, and we at Nerds HQ think this is kind of a shame!
Sure, your obligatory dozen red roses is a classic. And yes, there’s something to be said for the simple romantic gestures — like a hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti with a mariachi band — who among us hasn’t enjoyed that?
But gadget gifts have a place too this Valentine’s day. In fact, the perfectly chosen gadget can be downright romantic. Let’s take a look at a few.
The Aera Smart Diffuser ($200)
First, here’s a fun fact about scent. The “olfactory bulb” belongs to a very ancient part of the human brain known as the limbic system. This particular chunk of gray matter has been part of our human hardware for as long as we’ve been human and it looks after the very bedrock of human experience: emotions, motivation and memory.
In other words, a fragrance is capable of directly stimulating our brains to remember and feel important moments in our lives. How romantic is that? So with that science factoid in mind, allow me to introduce the Aera Smart Diffuser.
The Aera smart diffuser has a few things going for it which you’d never get from a standard candle or oil diffuser. First up, let’s take a look at the technology. This is a fully fledged smart device. Controlled by an app, this piece of smell techno-wizardry is capable of maintaining a subtle fragrance for over 800 hours. Aera even have a name for this cool schnoz-oriented tech: “surround-scent technology.”
Nerdy techo stuff aside though, this nifty smellotronic device (surely they missed a golden opportunity by not calling it that!) sports some truly luxurious blends of essential oils.
Just check out their store to get a sense of their fragrance blends which have sexily alluring names like “Moondance” (iris, bergamot and amber); “Poetry” (vetiver, eucalyptus and guaiac wood!); and “Zephyr” (lotus petals, lily of the valley and sandalwood). The mind (and possibly the nose) boggles.
The Good Cooking Melting Pot ($20)
In a fictitious 2018 study conducted by the University of Stutgard’s prestigious Akademie für romantische Liebesstudien, it was conclusively proven that if romance had a flavor, it’d be chocolate with just a hint of strawberry. Chocolate dipped strawberries are, objectively, the most romantic foodstuff devised by our species.
The Good Cooking Chocolate Melting Pot can make this magic happen. The thing that makes this gadget so great is that it takes a pretty messy and difficult process and makes it about as tricky as making toast.
Just throw in the chocolate, dial up your temperature setting and queue up your awesome ’80s love song playlist. This glorious device will take care of the rest.
It also comes with over 30 accessories, including a bunch of molds, fondue forks and assorted chocolate wrangling paraphernalia.
Nixplay Seed Digital Photo Frame ($160)
OK, I know what at least some readers are thinking here. Digital photo frames are kind of dated. At first glance this idea might seem a tad outmoded in this era where tablets and portable devices abound.
But the Nixplay Seed has something your standard, gimmicky digital photo frames don’t have: style. Its wooden texture and cheerful color options makes this tech looks like a distinctive and attractive photo frame. It’s easily something you could keep on your mantelpiece or bedside table, and an elegant way to keep those precious memories close at hand.
Its features are great too. The Nixplay Seed is cloud-enabled, meaning you can send pictures straight to it from your smartphone; no messing about with USB cables or SD cards. It’s also equipped with a motion sensor. When you’re not in the room, it’ll go into power-saving mode!
Romantic gesture, attractive decor and nifty power-saving features rolled into one device! That’s a perfect storm of Valentine’s gadgetry right there. All you have to do now is get out there and up your cheesy romantic picture game!
Philips Hue Smart Lighting ($35 to $100)
Finally, it’s worth thinking about the gift of some lovely, warm lighting this Valentines. Dimmable lights make it that much easier to feel warm and cozy at home.
With the Philips Hue lighting system, the light in any area of your home can be configured in any number of ways — from a soft, warm light when it’s date night at home right through to crazy bright colors if you and your significant other want to boogie down to your own private disco. Hey, it could happen!
The Nintendo Switch (No, Seriously!) ($300)
No, this isn’t a joke! It’s easy to think of console gaming as the polar opposite of togetherness, romance or social interaction for that matter. And it’s true: console gaming in its pure form can be a pretty isolating pastime.
The Nintendo Switch isn’t your typical console, though. To begin with, it’s portable. Instead of skulking off to an entertainment room or den, with the Switch you can bring gaming back into the living room. You can hang out together and game.
But more than that, many of the games themselves are designed to be done together. They’re made to be interactive, where you plan, talk and laugh your way through the experience. Just read through this couples gaming Reddit thread which is filled with examples of couples gaming it up together.
Want more proof? Check out this nerdy couple going crazy with paint guns in Splatoon 2.
Gadgets and Valentine’s Day aren’t like oil and water. In fact, there are some great options out there if you’re willing to bust outside the traditional Valentine’s mold and nerd it up!
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