Posts
Japanese cell phones already do stuff like play crazy ring tones and double as wallets, but now they're also going to be giving off signature scents.
The new phones by NTT DoCoMo will be equipped with fragrance cartridges that are accessed by IR when you download a fragrance playlist onto your handset. The company hopes to partner with mobile content providers so that you can pair a scent with your horoscope, the weather report, your favorite web video, or some romantical music.
The Fragrance Playlists are downloaded from the "i-mode" mobile website of sister company NTT DoCoMo. Using the phone's infrared port, the fragrance data is transferred to a device that has been loaded with a cartridge of essences, or base fragrances . The device, a smaller, lighter and more stylish version of the previous model, then mixes the specific fragrances and emits them as the user enjoys the A/V content played back on their phone.
The Fragrance Playlists also can be edited as well as shared with others who subscribe to the service.
Also to be tested is a device controller, called the Service Gateway, which controls the operation of devices in the Mobile Fragrance Communication system. The gateway connects with the Internet, so instructions can be sent remotely from a mobile phone. For example, commands could be sent to the gateway to instruct the fragrance device to begin operating just before the user arrives home .
