GLOBAL – You can’t fail to have noticed that it’s Valentine’s Day today.
It’s the day we celebrate 14 martyred saints in Ancient Rome. The original Saint Valentine was a bit of a tough nut, according to early accounts. Having been condemned to death by Claudius II, he was beaten and stoned. And when that failed to put him down, he was beheaded as well.
Our Finnish colleagues at Nokia display a remarkably sane approach to Valentine’s. Instead of all this romance stuff we put up with in the rest of the world, Valentine’s Day in Finland is all about friendship. They actually call it “Ystävänpäivä“, which means Friend’s Day, and it’s all about getting together as a big group and celebrating your friendships.
Not so much here in the UK, though. Here it’s hearts and flowers from beginning to end.
If you haven’t already booked a restaurant, then a combination of Popular Places on Nokia Maps or Local Scout on Windows Phone might get you to safety before you are in serious trouble with your partner.
It’s a great app, but we somehow doubt that the newly-released Domino’s Pizza app for Windows Phone will win you many brownie points with your nearest and dearest.
And you have bought flowers, haven’t you? Haven’t you? Depending on the answer, you may be pleased to know that Interflora has a mobile optimised website. Competitor iFlorist only offers a full-fat website, it seems, but that worked fine on the Nokia Lumia and Nokia N9. If you need to find flowers in a hurry, then once again, Nokia Maps is your friend with location-sensitive search serving up the nearest florist in moments in case you need to make an early morning dash.
A number of e-Card style apps have appeared that let you send Valentine’s Day cards. (This one seems to be the best on Windows Phone Marketplace). To be entirely honest, we can’t really recommend them. Nothing says “Our relationship is on the rocks” better than sending your partner an e-Card on this special day.
On the other hand, there are a few Valentine’s themed games on offer. Try Valentine’s Delivery for free, or buy it for 99p if you think you might play it again after today. It’s a ‘catch things dropping from the sky’ game that might occupy your time on the bus travelling to meet that special person.
Having given all my money to the aforementioned restauranteurs and florists, I shall be consoling myself with the free Cupid’s Arrows. Ideal if Valentine’s brings violent thoughts to your mind, this one allows you to play Cupid, shooting arrows at as many hearts as you can within the allotted time.
You never know, I might even phone or text someone. Will your phone see any romantic Valentine’s Day action today?