When I saw this on Tokyo Mango, the first thing that came to my mind was the ShePhone, a crazy concept phone design with at least a half dozen functions having nothing to do with communication. (Mia is credited with its design, which is another story.)

Developed, and currently being tested, by NTT Communications, the "Mobile Fragrance Communication" service is not as futuristic as I first thought. As it turns out, the fragrance isn't actually emitted by the cell phone itself; the service is a mobile version of an existing service which connects downloaded audiovisual content with fragrances that come out of a separate device. So, with this mobile version, you download a "fragrance playlist" on your cell phone, then the fragrance data is transferred via the phone's infrared port to the fragrance device which contains fragrance cartridges. A device controller connected to the Internet can also receive instructions from your cell phone remotely.

Apparently, the company's plan is to partner with mobile content providers to pair fragrances with videos, music, and other content.

Seems like an awful lot of trouble relative to the benefit, but who am I to say, considering I once said that same thing about TiVo? See full press release.