Cell phone users will test a new service that allows them to download fragrances, NTT Communications Corp. said.
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 the i-mode mobile Web site 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 mixes them to create the chosen smell, which then wafts out.
The service is a cell phone version of an existing fragrance download service for homes and offices. Trials will run for 10 days beginning Thursday.
The company is also testing a device that can be connected to the Internet so that a user can remotely program a scent from a mobile phone. The company launched a similar service for homes in 2005, allowing users to download different programs to emit smells from a ¥73,500 machine.