Valentine's Day is coming up fast, and if your lover loves their iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, you're in luck, there are some fantastic device, app, accessory, and media gifts to thrill them and score you major brownie points. Whether you're romantic enough to prepare well in advance, or if you're scrambling to stay off the couch, sit back and get your groove warmed up -- Rene and I decided to do a little written ZEN and TECH this week and help you pick out the perfect Valentine's Day gifts for your special someone.

Dream devices for the person of your dreams

On the off chance the love of your life doesn't yet have an iOS device to call his or her own, that's a great place to start. An iPod touch can be the perfect travel or exercise companion. An iPad can entertain and inform at home or away. An a iPhone can keep you both in touch no matter where you are. And Apple TV is perfect for all the couple movie classics.

And hey, if you're in a long distance romance, just wait until they discover FaceTime.

• Apple iOS device gift guide

Awesome accessories

If your significant other already has their iOS device needs met, then accessories are your next best bet. There's something about a tangible gift -- something about receiving a gift, opening it, seeing and feeling it for the first time. It's... real.

There are a ton of great iPhone and iPad accessories to choose from. Here are some of our favorites.

Case-Mate Barely There Brushed Aluminum Case for iPhone

Year after year, Case-Mate melts my heart with a shiny, sexy case for the iPhone and this year is no exception -- the Barely There Brushed Aluminum Case is simply spectacular. As always, it's light as a feather, extremely low profile, and the finish is fabulous. Girls will love the heart red or stunning silver, guys the basic black. Both will appreciate the aircraft-grade aluminum inlay, gunmetal hard shell, and awesome good looks of the Barely There Brushed Aluminum.

$29.95 - Buy now

Pad & Quill Little Black Book for iPhone and Contega for iPad

Little Black Book's are usually reserved for hot little numbers, and Pad & Quill's take on the classic is no exception -- it wraps your high tech iPhone in old word craftsmanship. It fits both the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, it's precision cut and framed from Baltic Birch, covered in Italian leather, bound in book cloth, with an extra pocket inside for credit cards or ID. If pink is your thing, Pad & Quill is offering the Little Black Book in just that special edition color, just in time for Valentine's. If not, they have a rainbow of other colors to choose from, from red to blue and everything in between.

Contega brings the same hipster vibe and quality construction to the iPad with even more features, notably a fold-up stand to make it easier to type or just watch your movies.

$54.99 and up - Buy now

Jawbone JAMBOX

You put down your wine glasses, take each other's hands, walk over to the dance floor, hold each other close -- and hear the tiny, tinny sound of your iPhone's speaker. Grrrrr. Jawbone's JAMBOX makes up for Apple's still disappointing audio with the best Bluetooth sound ever. It's rich. It's deep. It'll keep you dancing until dawn.

$179.99 - Buy now

8-Bit Dynamic Life Shirt

These light-up shirts from Think Geek will normally show two-and-a-half glowing hearts. But when you and your special someone come together, your heart bar glows full and you power up. Get one for yourself, one for your love, and whenever you're together, your shirts will light up.

$17.99 - $24.99 - Buy now

Amazing apps

You know if there's an app for just about everything, a large portion of those just have to be for love! Whether you're deeply in love, trying to keep the home fires burning, or still trying to kindle the flame, there are most definitely apps for all that.

Romantic apps

If you're already in a relationship, especially if you've been in one for a while, and you need or simply want something sexy to spice up your Valentine's day, the App Store has plenty to offer.

$1.99 - iKamaSutra

Interlude: A romantic rant

We looked for more apps we could recommend, but frankly most of them looked terrible. The icons were horrible, the screenshots were horrible, and the reviews were horrible. We're long past the time lazy, opportunistic "developers" should be able to put out junk and make money off iPhone and iPad users. This should be a good market. There should be a great developer who can make a gorgeous looking, fabulous working dice game, spin the bottle, truth or dare, or something -- anything -- else for adults who simply want to have some fun. Take this as a challenge -- by next Valentine's Day, have some amazing stuff in the store for couples!

More apps

We offer up what we think are simply the best apps day in and day out here at iMore, just because it's Valentine's doesn't mean you need to get a Valentine's specific app. Sometimes something thoughtful, something that shows you've listened, learned your significant other's interests, and found them something delightful is the way to go.

• iMore's best app lists

Online dating apps

If you don't happen to have someone special this year, if you're still searching, it's never too early to get ready for next year. Why not harness the power of your iPhone and iPad? Many of the popular online dating sites have apps in the app store, and since our lives are increasingly mobile, there's no reason our love lives shouldn't be as well. (The apps are usually free, as is browsing, but there are typically fees associated with messaging.)

Free - eHarmony

Variable - More online dating apps

Last minute gift ideas

If you're reading this with only minutes to spare before your special someone comes to the door, or comes downstairs, all hope is not lost. In addition to the apps listed above, all of which can be bought in an instant, there are also several sweet services and certificates that are yours to be had, only a few clicks away.

Netflix, Hulu Plus, Slacker and other subscription

You'll be stuck watching romantic comedies, chick flicks, or something racy, but you won't be stuck on the sofa or the dog house!

• Netflix
• Hulu Plus
• Slacker Personal Radio

iTunes, App Store, iBooks gifts and gift certificates

If romance is still fresh and new and you don't want to risk gifting the wrong app or iBook or iTunes music, you can get them a gift certificate. Don't just hand it over, however. Take their hand and go online shopping with them!

• iTunes gift certificates

Amazon gift certificates

Amazon has a ton of digital content all there own, but they also have old school media -- paper books, plastic CDs and Blu-Rays, games that come on cartridges... Gift certificates let your special someone pick just exactly the goods -- real or virtual -- they want, and Amazon will deliver it straight to the door or the device. Again, shop with them!

• Amazon gift certificates

Your Valentine's gift ideas?

Did we miss any of your favorite Valentine gift ideas, past, present, or future? Anything that especially made your heart melt or soar or skip a beat? Please share in the comments!

The Case-Mate Barely There Chrome Case for iPhone 4 is just stunningly beautiful. If you've been following me on Twitter you know it's my new favorite iPhone 4 case and considering how long I used the Case-Mate Barely There Chrome Case for my iPhone 3G it's likely to remain so for a long time to come.

But looks and personal preferences aren't everything -- hard to believe, I know! -- so check out the video above and keep reading after the jump to see how it performs.

Case-Mate Barely There Chrome Case for iPhone 4 is easy to put on. Just slide it in volume control side first and press it down into place. Once safe and secure, you still have access to all the buttons and ports and it's cut generously enough around the dock that most 3rd party cables should have no problem fitting in.

Thin and smooth around the sides it doesn't do anything to help your grip but it doesn't hurt it much either. If you're worried about the infamous death-touch, yes it prevents that problem in weak signal areas.

The build quality is fantastic. The edges are smooth and well-finished and perfectly tapered so you can run your finger freely across the screen without bumping into them. Because it's a slim case, while it will prevent your iPhone 4 from getting bumps and scrapes it probably won't do much to protect it from high impact drops.

The Case-Mate Barely There Chrome Case for iPhone 4 includes a mirrored screen protector. It looks beautiful when the screen is off but does darken it and shift colors slightly towards the blue spectrum when the screen is on, which is something the iPhone 3G/3GS version didn't do. If it bothers you, don't use it.

Overall the Case-Mate Barely There Chrome Case for iPhone 4, available from the TiPb iPhone 4 accessory store, is just gorgeous and very, very classy looking. I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't need a higher level of protection. If you want your iPhone 4 to look great and attract attention this is absolutely the hottest case on the market at the moment.

I absolutely love it.

Pros

• Gorgeous
• Easy to take on and off
• Excellent fit and finish

Cons

• Screen protector darkens and tints screen

Say hello to the Case-Mate Barely There Chrome Case for the iPhone [$19.95 iMore Store Link]. It's a streamlined case with a chrome outer shell and a mirrored screen protector. And it's the hottest iPhone case to come around in a while.

If you haven’t already bought a gift for that special man/woman in your life, then just pick this one up. The perfectly mirrored surface is beautifully complimented by the gleaming chrome case. Yes, if Hercules had had this case he would have been able to defeat Medusa and make sure his hair still looked good. The back of the case also has a “beauty spot” for your apple icon (a hole in the case so you can see the apple logo). This case is such a stunner that it got a gasp of approval from one of my more difficult to please male friends.

This case offers protection for the iPhone without being bulky and cumbersome. It covers the edges and corners of the phone while allowing easy access for volume, mute and charging.

My favorite feature on this case is that the sides are protective but it fits below the level of the screen. This means that you can swipe right off the edge of the phone, without hitting the edge of the case. (I find cases that have a raised side edge very constraining and disruptive.)

The case easily comes off and on the iPhone. You place the iPhone into the case sideways with the volume and mute button going in first. Taking off the case is easy if you first gently pry off one of the corners and then use the Apple logo cutout to push out the phone.

Every case has an Achilles heel and one of the drawbacks to this case is that it would not offer the phone a lot of protection in case of a high drop.

Also, I was hoping that this case would allow me to place my phone into its base charger. It is close but you still need to remove the case to charge it into a base charger.

I enjoyed this case so much that I removed my Gelaskin backing so that the apple logo would be properly displayed! (Yeah, I'm cool geeky like that).

Disclaimer: iMore Store provided the case for this review.

To learn more, check out TiPb's iPhone Accessory Store...

The Case-Mate Barely There case for the iPhone 3G, available for $19.95 from the TiPb iPhone Store, is designed to accomplish several things:

• Protect your iPhone from minor impact and abuse (e.g. bumps and scratches)
• Do so without adding significant bulk or making it un-pocketable (if that's how you roll)
• And to look good while doing it.

How well does it hit these targets, and what if anything could it do better? Find out in our review...

I'm not a huge fan of cases. More often than not, my iPhone goes commando in my pocket. Well, almost. I have a sticker-skin on it to protect from minor scratches since the plastic iPhone 3G backing is so prone to them. I do worry, however, that one day I'll drop my pride and joy and that same plastic backing will chip or crack on me. Living with that fear in the back of my mind is what drove me to try out a few options, starting with one that's as close to naked as a hard case can be.

Design

Case-Mate's Barely There case comes in a rainbow of colors. Enough to make the latest gen iPod nano jealous. Case the rainbow. Seriously. Black, white, red, orange, purple, pink, and blue are your options. Being somewhat stalwart and sedate myself, I went with black.

It covers the back and sides of the iPhone 3G, with cutouts at the corners to increase flexibility and aid in getting it on or off. Cutouts are also provided for the controls, speaker, mic, and dock port, and a hole is cut in the back so the big Apple logo on the iPhone can represent. Fandom rejoice. Everyone else scratch your heads and hope nothing spears it right in that target spot.

For the front, in lieu of armor, Case-Mate provides a fairly typical screen protector.

Usability

Slide your iPhone in, volume buttons first, and the other side flexes and snaps into place securing your iPhone in its protective shell. Simple, direct, easy. Win.

For the screen protector -- it's a screen protector. Clean thoroughly. Apply carefully. Squeegee down deliberately.

day in, day out, the case just does what it's supposed to from that point on -- protect your iPhone from the abuse of casual use. Living up to it's name, it often times felt like it really was barely there, adding nothing appreciable to the in-pocket experience, and even giving a tiny bit of extra, and appreciated, heft in-hand.

It's not coated in soft-touch, so there's really no added security when it comes to actually preventing drops, but it feels tough enough to survive a pretty good whack. And hey, if you break it, at least you're only out an Andrew Jackson and not the heap of Ben Franklins a new iPhone would cost you.

Of course, the front is covered with only a thin plastic film, so while you still get the scratch protection, dropping it face down will offer nothing in the way of similar impact resistance.

Problems? A couple minor ones to start, mostly to do with fit and finish. The edges in the corners were left a tad sharp. Don't get me wrong, nothing skin-piercing here, just enough to give you an annoying poke. A little extra rounding off in the factory would have been appreciated.

Likewise -- and I preface this by saying I have a sticker-skin on top of my iPhone 3G which might have caused just a millimeter or so of extra girth, creating the problem -- plastic interiors make me to worry about cases causing scratches as much as they prevent them. I saw some depressions on my sticker-skin. No idea if that would have translated to anything on a bare iPhone back, but a little more inside finish at the factory would be reassuring here as well.

Being a complete and single unit case, it's not compatible with all dock-port accessories. Anything slim and at the end of a long cable, like the standard USB sync that comes with the iPhone, should do you fine. Any kind of cradle, however, will almost certainly require you to remove the case first.

Lastly, the added size, even while minimal, will of course make it incompatible with some holsters and pouches. Without a belt-clip option, this case seems pretty much targeted at people like me -- those who prefer not to have cases or case-like trappings at all.

Again, just like the product name promises -- this case is barely there.

Conclusion

For those who prefer nothing to come between them and our iPhones, the Case-Mate Barely There case is definitely worth a look. In the eternal compromise that comes between comfort and protection, Case-Mate strikes an excellent balance. And, since Apple in its infinitely looped wisdom only offers the iPhone 3G in black and white models, the Case-Mate is also a great way to splash some color on your unit while keeping things lean and still getting some added peace of mind.

Pros

• Strong and flexible
• Easy application and excellent fit
• Wide range of color choices

Cons

• Edges and inside could have better finish
• Not compatible with some dock-port accessories
• Not compatible with all holsters/pouches and no belt-clip option

TiPb Accessory Review Rating