Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2008

Forget, the stereo-typical gifts this year and get your sweetie something that shows you care.

Whether you are deeply in love or deep in the dog house this Valentine’s Day, the object of your affection will appreciate a thoughtful gift straight from the heart. Since flowers and chocolate are soooo last century, try something different this year and pick up sugary sweet high-techery that has a decidedly longer shelf life than roses or chocolate ever could.

$99 USD, Optimus 7” Digital Photo Frame
As a symbol of your never-ending love for your signifigant other, load up a digital frame with pictures of the two of you, then on V-Day, just cue up “Endless Love” on the stereo and roll the slideshow. They’ll laugh, they’ll cry, they’ll love you for it. The Optimus 7” Digital Photo Frame is perfect for public displays of affection with a black, real wood frame that matches any décor. The frame has a 4-in-1 card reader that’s compatible with the SD, MMC, Memory Stick or xD memory card. View either a single digital photo or a slideshow. www.radioshack.com

$59.99, SanDisk Sansa Clip
A loaded MP3 player is to the 2000’s what the mixed tape was to the 80s, but faster and no chance of that pesky tape twisting. Measuring in at a scant 0.6” thin and weighing under an ounce, the SanDisk Sansa Clip is a powerful MP3 player that’s as easy on the eyes as it is the wallet. The player (available in pink, red, black, blue and silver) features 2GB of flash memory (about 500 songs), 15 hours of playback time and a built-in FM tuner and comes with a clip and headphones. $59.99 USD, Compare prices

$9.99, emusic
If your non-conformist sweetie loves songs that aren’t on heavy rotation on the airwaves, give them a gift subscription to eMusic, featuring access to 2.8 million downloadable indy tunes they will own, not rent. The site showcases artists on independent labels as well as a great selection of audio books. Monthly subscriptions start at $9.99 USD for 30 song downloads. www.emusic.com

$114-$189 USD, Iomega eGo
Got yourself a computer lovin’ guy or gal that’s always on the go? Lighten their load with an Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive. The hard drive has dual USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 interfaces, as well as 160GB to 250GB models. Typically, 160GB holds up to 640,000 photos, over 2900 hours of her favorite songs and 240 hours of video. This sleek and tiny, but durable number is available in Cherry Red, Jet Black and Alpine White, making it not only a sensible data storage solution for the commuting apple of your eye, but a stylish one to boot. $132.95-$189.95 USD, Compare prices

$99.99 USD, LG Shine
With AT&T’s LG Shine cell phone, available in sassy red, you really can be with your partner all of the day and all of the night. In addition to letting you two fall asleep while talking until 4 a.m., the unique slider style enables the user to listen to tunes, take photos and video via the 2 MP camera and camcorder and has mobile email and multimedia messaging capabilities. $99.99 USD, www.wireless.att.com

$199.99 USD, Casio Exilim EX-Z1050
The Casio EX-Z1050 PK Exilim 10.1MP digital point and shoot is a great choice for capturing all of your special moments together. This sweet tart pink, ultra-compact pocket camera takes crisp, high-resolution images also features 3x optical zoom, 2.6” LCD display and antishake DSP. The long battery life allows up to 460 shots on a single charge. $199.99 USD, Compare prices

$199.99 USD, Epson PictureMate Zoom Compact Photo Printer
Your snap happy partner captured you from every angle, but now all of those great photos are just hanging out on the hard drive. Give them a great reason to print them out and create a savage love collage – an homage to you – with the Epson PictureMate Zoom Compact Photo Printer. In addition to printing high-quality 4”x6” prints, the printer also enables users to crop, resize and remove red-eye all without the help of a PC. And, so those moments won’t be lost when that old computer finally bites the dust, they can archive your lovely photos forever with the printer’s integrated CD burner. $199.99 USD, visit www.epson.com for dealer locations near you