Call and Sniff? Japanese Company ChatPerf Sends Scents through Phones (Video)

Cellular phones have completely revolutionized the way we communicate with each other. Instead of rushing home to check messages, you can now carry around a hand held device that gives you round-the-world communication right in your pocket. And for most of us, this can mean anything from skyping with a relative in Russia to ordering pizza on GrubHub.

There's really hardly anything they can't do. However, to date, cell phones cannot send smell. But could they? According to ChatPerf, a Japanese company known for it's technological advances, they may be rolling out an advancement for your smartphone that allows you to actually receive and send different smells? Yep. You heard us correctly.

Using a 30-pin connector on an iPhone, a company spokesperson said that after the device is attached to the phone, a screen comes up with a "puff" button that the user taps to release sent, according to The Discovery Channel. He also noted that a version available for your android will be available in the fall.

Could this be the next big sensation for phoning? (Possibly call it "scenting.") ChatPerf at least seems to think so. And as for the range of smells, they really could include just about anything, the company notes, as they're working on different scent tanks with different scents. ChatPerf has also released a software development kit, to see what ideas smell-hackers might come up with.

Will this catch on? What do you think?

Want to find out more about how this works? Check out this video, courtesy of YouTube.