What, that whole article and no "smell-o-phone" jokes? I'm disappointed.

Honestly, this is one of those products that I fail to see the worth of. Why would I want to be sprayed with scent by my phone?

Posted by: Mike on October 22, 2002 08:05 PM

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Looks like a technology for the sakes of technology ... *stand by while I send you the smell of a pizza I am currently eating* ... nup ... its still not a seller.

Posted by: daniel szuc on October 22, 2002 10:37 PM

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How 'bout "you can kiss my arse, pal, and here's what my fart smells like. Enjoy!" :P

Posted by: MadMan on October 22, 2002 11:43 PM

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*presses receive smell button on mobile device* *sees message is from Madman* mmmm ... lovely. But usability issue is how can I cancel the *smell receive* function mid stream?

Posted by: daniel szuc on October 23, 2002 06:15 AM

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But wouldn't this be the killer app for dogs? "Oh yea, another voice mail from Buffy" - she smelled mad".

Posted by: Mike on October 23, 2002 09:25 AM

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I think they're actually onto something here. I guess the idea is that you can assign different smells to different people. The teen and pre-teen market would go for this like a customs dog after some weed.

Your boyfriend/girlfriend could be a 'rose', while your dad would be be represented by the 'sweat of a walrus'. Your 'A' list and 'B' list friends could be 'fresh grass' and 'hay'.

And if your phone is set to 'vviibbraaaattte' and you lost it, you could phone yourself and then sniff your phone down.

In fact, why cant we choose different ring tones for different incoming numbers? This may already exist. I have a mobile phone, but I have had the same one for three years and only use it about once a month, so I would probably would have missed the 'psychic link' option if it hadn't been for WebWord.

Posted by: Mac on October 23, 2002 02:28 PM

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Mac, your relationship with your dad must be very different from mine. My Dad would be represented by Old Spice. And now I'll just sit back and wait for the inevitable "Only old fogies wear Old Spice" comments. G'head - I've heard 'em all. It's too bad, because it's a good cologne.

Posted by: Lydia on October 23, 2002 03:16 PM

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Old spice - ah yes.

*picture a suave looking guy enjoying the seas and winds as he rides his personal yacht on a clear blue skied day*

*spashes on some Old Spice*

Posted by: daniel szuc on October 24, 2002 12:28 AM

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Lydia, I thought Old Spice was made from the sweat of a walrus?

Posted by: Mac on October 24, 2002 03:26 AM

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No, Mac! It is a perfectly heavenly fragrance. I don't know why it gets such a bad rap. Personally, I wouldn't mind meeting a nice guy who wears Old Spice. That new crap is too cloying. Polo? Please!

Posted by: Lydia on October 24, 2002 02:36 PM

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On thing for sure. Smell does give a strong emotional reaction and perhaps it is one part of the UI or UX thats missing. Think the current aftershaves have too much *citrus* and are the samish. I am an "Aramis" man myself.

Posted by: daniel szuc on October 24, 2002 11:42 PM

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Of course, right along with current concerns about people with epilepsy, color blindess, etc, adding scent to a UI would add a whole layer of concern over allergies and outright averse reactions to different scents and chemicals.

My son came home from his first drum lesson with a phamplet about MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) - evidently the instructor suffers from this. The material claims that 15-33% of the general population suffers MCS to some degree.

So thanks, but no thanks, design and QA is hard enough without yet another layer of complexity - not to mention risk of lawsuit.

Posted by: Mike on October 25, 2002 09:10 AM

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