Five of the best: show your love for her this Valentine’s Day

Nothing says “I love you!” better on Saint Valentine’s Day than the gift of a thoughtfully chosen gadget. Well, except for diamonds, perfume, flowers, quality chocolates and a romantic getaway. But those things aren’t on our beat, so here are a handful of suggestions from us for him to give to her tomorrow.

Review: Oppo R9s smart phone –$598

Now you’d love to get her the shiniest new iPhone. Of course. Heck, make that an iPhone 7 Plus! But that $1200-plus price tag is rather daunting. If you know that she isn’t hooked on Apple-specific stuff (like iMessage, for example, or AirDrop or AirPlay or …), then the Oppo R9s is one very classy phone for half the price. Good performance, good features, and running Android 6.01, no harder to use than an iPhone (we skirt with controversy here!)

But if she is thoroughly embedded in an Apple world, then the monetary saving just won’t be worth it.

Read more about the Oppo R9s here.

Panasonic Wings RP-BTS50 BTS Bluetooth Sports earphones – $199.95

Is she a fitness fan? If she visits the gym or jogs, then she surely needs high quality earphones. Ones that can cope with the rigours of exercise. Panasonic reckons its Wings RP-BTS50 BTS earphones will suit her perfectly. Quality sound, comfortable and secure fit, they’re also IPX5 rated so they’ll be safe in a rain storm.

And if she’s out at night, she can switch on the “Illuminating Blue Edge LEDs” which make her more visible in the dark.

Come back for the review in a few days.

House of Marley Buffalo Soldier Bluetooth headphones – $199.99

How about something a little more comfortable, a little more relaxed, for listening when not at the gym. The House of Marley Buffalo Soldier headphones use environmentally sustainable materials, but still look a million dollars and sound great. They’ll run for sixteen hours off a single charge. They’ll connect to her phone via Bluetooth for both music and hands free talking. And if she does forget to charge them up, they can plug in, with an in-line remote to control things.

Read our review of them here.

Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Link – $749

Wow, after that bout of 40+ temperatures, it’s time to cool down. The Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Link will do just that

Let’s break down that name a bit. Dyson is famous for moving air. This blower is as stylish and effective as the name suggests. “Pure” is because there’s a highly efficient filter that removes all particles from the air. “Hot+Cool” because, well, it can work as a heater as well, so it can blow both warm and cool air in one direction, or swivel to spread the love. And “Link” because the Dyson app on her smart phone can control it.

We ran it through its paces here.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX10 compact camera – $999

Yeah, we know, everyone has a camera in their phone. And we’re the first to admit that they are astonishing in the quality they can produce. But they’re wide angle cameras. Like using a 24mm lens on an old fashioned camera. Great for photographing as house … from the same side of the street. Just not very flexible.

This camera is small enough for a purse, but with 3x zoom it’s way more flexible than any phone camera. Plus there are a stack of features for the adventurous technology user (which of course she is).

Read more about it here.