Scent of a mobile: Japan to take a whiff

Japanese cell phone users will test a new service that allows them to download fragrances, telecommunications company NTT Communications Corp said on Monday. Twenty participants using Mobile Fragrance Communications can download files of specific scents accompanied by music or video clips, the company said.

Scent playlists can be downloaded from “i-mode” mobile Website run by the company’s affiliate, NTT DoCoMo. The service uses a handset’s infrared port to transfer the “fragrance data” to a dedicated device similar to a plug-in air freshener that is loaded with a cartridge of base fragrances. The device then mixes them to create the chosen smell, which it then wafts out.