Keeping up with the latest trends in music (Ke$ha in, Amy Winehouse out) and technology (iPad in, Kindle out) is easy. But razor technology is a different story. Even though razors are an everyday essential, it’s hard to keep track of what’s new, hot and different. And forget about asking the store stock guy for help on the subject. (You’ll be lucky if he’s even able to direct you to the razors.)

So here’s a primer on the two chart-topping cartridge razors, the Gillette Fusion ProGlide and Schick Quattro, and one best-selling electric razor, the Braun Pulsonic 790cc -- with insight from Michael Gilman, blogger for his site, GroomingGuys.com.

Gillette Fusion ProGlide

This upgrade to the world’s best-selling shaving system, the five-blade Fusion, incorporates a blade with thinner edges that’s covered in a low-resistance coating to slice with less tug and pull. A blade stabilizer has been added to keep the blades properly spaced apart, and the Lubrastrip is 25 percent bigger to help the razor glide across the face more easily. “Gillette has probably maxed out the number of blades at five, so they’re focusing now on making the quality of the blades better, and a better moisture strip,” says Gilman. “They succeed here.”

Schick Quattro Titanium

Most blades are made of stainless steel. The latest improvement to the popular Quattro line is clear from the name: titanium. Schick uses a coating of this precious metal on the four blades for a dramatically sharper cutting edge that doesn’t get dull as quickly. Its grip is now ribbed as well, for an easier hold. “Razors are kind of like golf clubs. Everyone is looking for new materials to make them with. What kind of difference they make is up in the air. I shaved with the Quattro Titanium just the other day, though, and I did get a really close shave,” says Gilman. 

Braun Pulsonic 790cc

Braun’s proprietary Pulsonic Technology oscillates the electric 790cc at 10,000 micro-vibrations per minute to help deliver an outstanding close and comfortable shave. Its two shaving surfaces also pivot and flex to contour the face, and you can clean, lubricate and dry the shaver with a simple press of a button. “There’s a lot of validity to the Pulsonic Technology. Barbers will do an aggressive massage with their hands to get the whiskers loose and the face putty-like for a better shave. It’s the same basic idea here,” says Gilman.

These gizmos will keep you and your lady together -- by giving you a little more space.

Sure you love your mate. But that doesn’t mean you have the same taste in everything. Never fear: Here are five relationship-saving products that will help preserve the peace (and your sanity).

In the Bedroom

Microplush Dual Control Electric Blanket

Not to make a blanket statement, but if you’re like most couples, you and your mate probably have different ideas about the ideal room temperature for sleeping. Do you like it warm, and she likes it roasty? It’s time to call a thermo-truce and invest in a dual-control electric blanket. Available in queen and king sizes, these spreads have two thermostats, each controlling the temperature on one side. This way, you can simmer while she sizzles. Now the only thing you’ll have to worry about is making sure she doesn’t steal the blanket in the middle of the night.

Queen size: $120

King size: $130

In the Den

JVC NX-D2 Dual iPod Dock Shelf System

So we’ve already established that your entertainment choices differ slightly from your S.O.’s. While your iPod is jam-packed with hair-band classics, the lady of the loft tends toward Yanni and John Tesh. What’s a self-respecting wannabe hard rocker like you to do when you both want to park your iPod in the living room docking station? JVC feels your pain and has just introduced the NX-D2, a shelf system with a dual iPod dock. With the NX-D2 (no relation, we’re told, to R2-D2), your iPods can snuggle up next to each other, each charging (though only one playing), perched above speakers that deliver 230 watts of power. Now your only dilemma will be: Who gets the remote? $400

In the Game Room

His and Hers Wii Remotes

You might not have a double remote for your JVC boom box, but why not have color-coded ones for your Nintendo Wii? Just unveiled in stores (appropriately enough) this Valentine’s Day, the Wii Remote is available in both pink and blue. The corresponding hue for your gender means that whether you’re playing “Wii Sports Resort” or “Legend of Zelda,” you’ll never again have to worry about picking up the “wrong” remote. (For the record, we’re not trying to reinforce color stereotypes, just trying to make life easier. OK? -- Editor) $55

In the Media Room

Brookstone Wireless TV Headphones

You’re nice and comfy in bed, your bag of nachos within easy reach, and things are about to get good. (We mean, your home team’s come back from the brink, and the game’s gone into extra innings.) But your woman is about to call a foul: It’s 1 a.m. and she has a big meeting tomorrow. Is it time to turn off the TV and head down to the den? Heck no! Just grab your wireless TV headphones. While your lady dreams of PowerPoint presentations, you can enjoy the game sound streamed directly to your ears. And as for the blinding light blaring from your 65-inch LCD into your lover’s eyes … geez, is there no making this chick happy? $50

In the Bathroom

Grohe Relexa Dual Shower System

Time to hit the showers. Problem is, while you like the water pressure set to max and the temps scalding hot, your companion prefers a slightly gentler approach. With a little bit of ingenuity, your home spa can accommodate you both. Consider the Relexa systems from Grohe -- our pick for the Platinum Level Couples Gadget (see price below). Set on opposite walls of the shower with a ceiling rain shower fixture betwixt you, Relexa lets you each claim your side of the stall. (Bonus tip: For true bliss, keep your razors, shampoos and other shower paraphernalia on your respective sides.) Find the settings that work for each of you, and you’ll never have to adjust the shower knobs again. That is, unless you and your mate decide to meet in the middle.
From $3,500 (excluding installation)

How to succeed in business? There's an app for that. If you want to be in career-competitive mode while mobile, here are 10 of our favorite applications for your smartphone.

When you traded up to your new smartphone, you vowed to use it for something besides Tap Tap Revenge and Bejewled, right? How’s that vow holding up?

If your downloading habits still trend more toward play instead of work, it’s probably time to mix it up a bit. Never before has so much organizing power and information been entrusted to the palm of your hand. And while Apple is the undisputed leader in this arena (its App Store has more than 100,000 different offerings), other cell phone, software and search companies have gotten into the mix now too, giving you compelling options for just about any next-generation smartphone you own. (And if you still have a “dumb” phone, skip to the end to see what apps are available to you.)

Want to be master of the universe? Start your reign by downloading these 10 applications:

1. Dragon Dictation
No matter how skilled you are at typing on a touch-screen keyboard, you can still talk a whole lot faster. Enter Dragon Dictation, an app that uses incredibly accurate speech recognition to translate your words into text that you can paste right into your emails.

Gives you an edge by:

Freeing you up from hunting and pecking so you can focus on your message

Availability:

App Store

Price:

Free

2. OpenTable
Never deal with a busy signal -- or a snooty reservation taker -- at a restaurant again. This app lets you make restaurant reservations at any one of more than 11,000 participating establishments throughout the U.S. and the world.

Gives you an edge by:

Making client entertaining a snap, even in an unfamiliar city

Availability:

Android Market, App Catalog, App World, App Store

Price:

Free

3. Mint
If the idea of having real-time access to all your banking, investment and payable information sounds enticing, check out this app. With this one program, you’ll achieve financial omniscience.

Gives you an edge by:

Freeing you from worry about overdrafts and missed bill payments

Availability:

App Store

Price:

Don’t worry, it doesn’t cost a mint. It’s free!

4. RedLaser
Remember how George H.W. Bush marveled at supermarket barcode scanners years after they’d been introduced? Imagine what he’d think of this app, which allows you to scan any barcoded product with your phone’s camera and call up comparison prices before you buy.

Gives you an edge by:

Helping you save money on office supplies for your small business

Availability:

App Store

Price (MSRP):

$1.99

5. Quick office
Create and edit Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets -- and with some phones, you can create PowerPoint presentations too.

Gives you an edge by:

Saving you the trouble of powering up your computer to work on a document that needs minimal changes.

Availability:

App Catalog, App Store, App World

Price (MSRP):

From $9.99 to $30, depending on phone and functionality

6. Newspapers
Another sign of the newsprint apocalypse, this app provides instant access to 70 papers around the globe, from TheNew York Times to Le Monde.

Gives you an edge by:

Providing international news and perspective without the need for you to haul six dozen newspapers in your briefcase

Availability:

Android Market, App Store, App World

Price:

$1.99

7. Qik
If your phone has a video camera, just point, aim and shoot to create videos you can stream and post to Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

Gives you an edge by:

Turning your phone into a videoconferencer capable of broadcasting important meetings and events to employees in remote locations

Availability:

Android Market, App Store, App World, Ovi Store

Price:

Free.

8. Cheap Gas!
The name says it all, and in this economy, what sales executive doesn’t need to watch his petrol budget? Use the phone’s GPS to geo-locate the least expensive gas around

Gives you an edge by:

Saving road warriors precious fuel dollars, not to mention the wasted time circling around in search of bargains

Availability:

App Store

Price:

Free

9. iFitness
Can’t tear yourself away from your desk long enough to get to the gym? Then just close your office door, fire up this app and follow the picture instructions for more than 230 exercises. Also allows you to track your fitness progress and even upload your own exercises and photos.

Gives you an edge by:

Offering instruction on the right way to work out and get in shape -- wherever you are

Availability:

App Store

Price (MSRP):

$1.99

10. Todo
List lovers will think they’ve died and gone to heaven with this app, which allows you to keep a digital running list of your daily tasks. You can sync it with your calendar and set it to send you reminder notifications.

Gives you an edge by:

Purging random slips of paper from your life and giving you at-a-glance access to your project priorities

Availability:

App Store

Price (MSRP):

$9.99

Finally, if you’re employing a less-evolved cell phone (one lacking sophisticated iPhone-type apps), you too can now access programs that turbocharge your mobile’s intelligence. There’s a new-ish generation of hardware called feature phones (typically recognizable by their larger screens and touch-screen functionality) that are less expensive than smartphones but that can still do a few cool tricks. Look for feature-phone apps at Web such sites as GetJar, which offers roughly 60,000 applications for nearly 2,000 different phones. You can still improve your cell game, even with a cheaper model.

KEY: App Store (Apple); Android Market (Google); App Catalog (Palm); App World (BlackBerry); Ovi Store (Nokia)

Ever wonder where the love of your life went? Just look her up online! But be warned -- you may not like what you find.

Janie Sherwin married the first boy she ever dated. She just did it 10 years after they broke up.

She and Howie were 14 when they first locked lips, but they decided they had some living to do before they could commit. So, they ditched after their second date. “But I never stopped thinking about him,” says Janie.

She packed up her memories when she moved away, and Bobby “dated a ton of chicks” before a short-lived marriage. But divorce turned his thoughts to his first love. “I looked her up on Facebook,” he says. Within minutes he found her and sent a message. “Then I thought she might have me arrested for harassment.”

Wrong!

“It’s like we were never out of touch,” says Janie. “We emailed -- a lot -- then agreed to meet. Within months, we decided to get married.”

For most folks, first loves were Super-Bowl-size events. The imprint on your emotional Etch A Sketch can’t be shaken. So when you get nostalgic … you’re unearthing some serious stuff.

In her book, Lost and Found Lovers: Facts and Fantasies of Rekindled Romance, Nancy Kalish, who holds a doctorate in psychology, reports that of the 1,300 people she surveyed, 25 would reunite with lost loves if they could. Now the Web makes the process a lost love layup.

A Classmates Web site survey revealed that 39 percent of their users -- or 14.7 million people -- said they used the site to look up an old love. So whether it’s Google, MySpace, Facebook or Twitter, it’s easy to let your fingers do the walking to locate old loves. The trend is so prominent, they have a name for digital daters who party in the past: retrosexuals.

It may be easy to find somebody online. The hard part is figuring out whether it’s the right thing to do, because sometimes, high-speed Internet “connections” have bugs.

Debbie, a 28-year-old dentist, was “friended” by her teenage squeeze on MySpace. “At first it was amazing,” she says. “I had always wondered what had happened to Ken, and suddenly, he was back in my life.”

The bad news? They were both married.

“My husband found out we were flirting online, and we ended up divorcing.” Which happily left the door open for Ken, right?

Wrong!

“He didn’t want to commit,” says Debbie. “It was the worst decision I ever made.”

So, be forewarned men! “People feel like they don’t need to be honest online,” says New York relationship counselor JoAnn Magdoff, who urges retro-romancers to do their homework before wining and dining online. “They might have innocent intentions, but they also have the entire Internet to hide their baggage, whether it is a marriage or a relationship.”

Kalish’s book indicates that 62 percent of the married folks who reconnected wound up having an affair -- even though they say they didn’t intend to.

Magdoff warns that you need to get a clear grasp of what you’re looking for before reaching out to touch someone from your past. Here are Magdoff’s essential strategies for retro-romancers to keep a past perfect romance from getting present tense:

Know your motivation. “What’s going on in your present life that’s forcing you to reach into the past? Do you really miss this person, or are you just dissatisfied with things right now? Put your focus on fixing the present before you dredge up the past.”

Level your expectations. “People age differently,” says Magdoff. Somebody who looked like Taylor Swift a decade ago may have, uh, “changed.” “Be smart,” she adds. “If her Facebook photo looks suspiciously like her yearbook pic, she might not be entirely honest.”

Remember why you reached out in the first place. “Make sure these people are who you remember them to be,” warns Magdoff. “Memories may be powerful but not always accurate. Engage in a lot of online dialogue to determine whether she exhibits the same qualities she had when you were kids.” If your memory says sweet and innocent but her emails say smug and sarcastic, drop this continuing-education class.

Ensure everyone is briefed before any debriefings. “If you’re married, and you’re looking to reconnect with an old friend … great. Just make sure everybody knows it.” That means tell the girl why you’re reaching out and let your girlfriend know you’re doing it. “If you’re not hooked up and you’re looking for love, ask her if she’s available and wants the same.” If you don’t, you’re leaving a ton of stuff unsaid. And when it finally is said ... you might not want to hear it.

Looking to hook yourself -- and your friends -- up with a group of girls? Make it a sure thing with the Internet’s latest social hybrid: the group date.

Grandpa always said, If you shoot into a barrel of fish, you’re more likely to hit one. And now, Pap, we understand the metaphor: group dating.

Group dating works with the same rationale, and efficiency is the name of the game. The mechanics are a lot like dating in high school before you had your driver’s license -- when Mom dropped you and your friends off a block away from the local roller rink, where you would swagger (or so you hoped) over to a group of equally anxious and awkward girls.

Add the Internet, then fast forward a few years, and here’s how it works now: You round up a group of male friends and join a group dating site. Meanwhile, a woman rounds up her own pals and joins the same site. Both groups meet. The result: “A bunch of people having a good time without the pressure of one-on-one dating or the worry of being stuck on a date so dull you wish an asteroid would hit,” says Janet Nooners of New York, who’s coordinated bimonthly group dating parties since January.

It's a lot like a typical Friday night, only instead of hoping you'll meet some new people, you actually do.

Pros

• You’ll have a gaggle of wingmen instead of one sacrificial one.

• You'll see how she interacts with your friends. Can she deal with your bud’s gross sense of humor? Can she engage in conversation with the group nerd about the latest Discovery channel series?

• You can save yourself a dinner tab and three hours of yammering about someone named Manolo or Jimmy Choo. And you don’t have to try to look like you know or care what a slingback is. Instead, you can quick-sample the options and save your time for the girl who’s actually worth it.

• You can perform due diligence without actually having to perform. “Thanks to your best friend’s ingenious banter, you can find out that she loves Rottweilers, has her scuba license and is dying to go to Burning Man,” says Nooners.

Cons

• Increased competition. Scenario: Three eager men, one sexy woman and her two crabby friends. Someone's going to hit it off, and it might not be you.

• Peer pressure. Your best friend can be a wee bit critical. Sometimes it's better to get to know a lady without your buds pointing out that she has “man hands.”

• Not-so-secret secrets. You’d rather keep some things to yourself when you first meet a new gal, such as that time in South Beach when you belted out four Madonna songs at the Chili’s karaoke night -- a tale your friends may share immediately. “No matter how subdued and polite you seem right now, she’s listening to that story as a warning,” says Florida’s Charlene Anthony, who met her current guy on a group date.

• Uncontrollable buddies. One of your friends alienates a group of delectable babes, who would otherwise be totally into you. Repairing the damage may be impossible.

• Wingman duties. During your “shift,” you may have to strike a delicate balance of distracting mousy, snort-laughing friend of hot girl while politely deflecting her exponentially aggressive advances.

Tips

• Communicate beforehand. Huddle with your friends and decide what’s good gab fodder and what’s off-limits. For instance: “References to ex-girlfriends or jokes about herpes,” says Gregg Barkley, who group dates in Los Angeles. Or “anything that involves quoting of movies between you and your buds -- girls don’t get that.”
• Coordinate outfits. “If everyone dons jeans and Affliction T-shirts, you’ll look like a boy band,” warns Anthony. “Or worse, if you’re all wearing khakis and polos, the one of you with jeans and a black tee will look like a free-thinking lead singer” (while the rest of you come off as his nerdy entourage).
• Come up with an escape route. Decide beforehand on a hard deadline to hit the road. Consider dropping a hint in the beginning of the evening that you absolutely must meet the other half of your crew by midnight. If the night goes well, you can pretend to cancel.
• Stay positive. Even if you don’t end up meeting Ms. Right this time, you can feel happy for your bud who always leaves empty-handed -- but scored that night. And since it was a “group date,” you’ll double your number of Facebook friends each time.