Tech Tuesday: Please (and tease) your Valentine with apps and gadgets

Wanna please your Valentine? Gizmo Guy has been on the prowl for apps and gadgets to warm hearts, help make a magical Valentine's Day - or rescue you from a romantic disaster. 'Cause even the best laid plans for a Valentine's Day tryst don't always work out as expected!

ROMANTIC APPTITUDE: Bad at advance planning? Even if you meet somebody on the eve of Valentine's Day, a slew of instant apps help make the moment special.

The Valentine's Day Recipe app (99 cents in the iOS App Store) features 140 easy-to-follow recipes portioned for two. Note the special emphasis on heart cookies and sweet tarts.

Virtual Valentine's Day cards offer a last-minute save of face. Snap a photo and quickly create a mailgram for your lovey (or likey) with the free Red Stamp Cards app for iOS and Android. Cards can be tweeted, texted, emailed or posted to Instagram and Facebook.

Young (and young in spirit) can get all warm and fuzzy with free, downloadable Valentine "cards" by toy maker Wild Republic, decorated with images of the brand's cute Cuddlekins and Sweet & Sassy stuffed animals.

Make and deliver at wildrepublic.com/valentines.

LOVE ME TINDER - OR NOT: Tinder is the go-to-site for last-minute, geographically convenient hookups. This Friday, work the app with an instant entertainment bonus at the Skivvies Tinder Lounge, adjacent to the Kimmel Center's SEI Innovation Studio, on Broad Street. The event comes with drink specials and a performance by the barely dressed "undie-rock" comedy duo the Skivvies (Lauren Molina and Nick Cearley). Tickets are $20 with the promo code TINDER online at kimmelcenter.org or 215-893-1999.

Suffering a Valentine's Day disaster? DateEscape (available on iOS) helps you delicately exit a boring or creepy date by sending a fake emergency call or text to your iPhone. "OMG - my dog's sick. Gotta go!"

Things going a little too smoothly? Consider Healthvana, a Yelp-like app to locate free HIV/STD testing centers in the area at healthvana.com/free-std-testing.

TECHY LOVE TREATS: How many times have you heard the suggestion "turn off the lights" in a sultry courting song? One smooth way is with a Lutron Caseta in-wall wireless dimmer (starter kit, $59.95). Just push a button on its wireless remote to dim ceiling lights to a preset or gradual level. Multiple Caseta dimmers can be cued by one remote.

Turn that wonderful photo of you and yours into a painting guaranteed to last your lifetimes or relationship, whichever comes first. The UPS Store at 614 S. 4th St. (below South Street) is rarin' to do the job quickly, using a sophisticated Canon printer with long-life pigment toners (in "millions" of colors) sprayed onto a high-grade, frame-stretched canvas. With the Valentine's Day discount, a 12-by-18-inch image costs just $42 (16-by-20, $49). 215-733-9200 or store3633@gmail.com.

LOVE'S TARGET: Taking inspiration and courage from the hit book and new film (out Friday), even Target is ready to rouse your passions this Valentine's Day with "The Official Pleasure Collection" of "Fifty Shades of Gray" sex toys, found online at target.com and in some stores in the health-care department.

Lovebirds can get an extra-special tingle with the Yours and Mine Adult Vibrating Love Ring and the No Peeking twin blindfold set (each $14.99). The chain also is bravely targeting Dr. Laura Berman's Aphrodite Rechargeable Personal Massager ($69.99) and the Vibratex Rabbit Habit ($79.99) for Valentine gifting, though we've heard buzz of better helpers at we-vibe.com and lelo.com.

EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE: Amazon is pushing electronic toothbrushes from Sonicare, OralB and WaterPik as Valentine's Day gifts. Not just because toothbrushes are fetishized in "Fifty Shades" but also because (sorry, Kay Jewelers) every good kiss really begins with good breath! Prices start at $29.99

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