Sunday, February 04, 2007

Perfume & Technology: Smell Phones!


Move over cell phones. Now there are smell phones! Two major cell phone manufacturers have announced the creation of cell phones which are capable of emitting fragrances.

Japan's top wireless operator, NTT DoCoMo, recently described the Sony Ericsson SO703i,

which comes with scented sheets designed to relax the users while making calls. The phone offers nine aroma choices for the consumer, each coupled with a different panel design. (from news.zdnet.com; photo source: asia.cnet.com).


This phone will initially be available only in Japan.




Meanwhile, Hyundai (source: phoneyworld) has also released a perfume phone: the Hyundai MP 280. It, too, has changeable cover panels in a variety of colors.

This phone differs from the Sony model in that you can actually add perfume to it so that each time you open the phone to make or receive a call, the scent is released. Further, it is possible to refill the perfume receptacle once the effect starts to decrease with the handy syringe that comes with the phone.

The butterfly in the center of the phone is where you "inject" the perfume into the handset. About 2 drops of the scent are enough to last about 8 hours.

The phone will go on sale in China for about 9900 yuan (around 1,225.00 USD).

Can smell tones be far behind?

2 comments:

IrisLA said...

I suppose this is the next best thing to actually wearing perfume. Asians are extremely careful to apply fragrance sparingly to avoid intruding into others' personal space. A smell phone can give the owner a discreet hit of scent. Whether this gimmick translates across the Pacific -- I'm not so sure. Well, maybe it's effective for aromatherapy.

christine said...

Hi, irisla,

I'm all for the discreet use of scent.

I like the idea of using the phone for aromatherapy. A little jolt of a beautiful fragrance is bound to improve one's day, not to mention make one friendlier on the phone call!

Christine