Matching smells with media has been tried in the past. There were movies that provided the audience scratch-and-sniff packets, and some experimentation with smell-o-vision. Neither became popular and the idea was dropped. But it seems the Japanese company NTT DoCoMo is giving this idea new life. New mobile phones from the company will be equipped with fragrance cartridges that release various odors.

NTT DoCoMo plans to partner its smellphones with content providers that match scent with a person’s horoscope, the weather or favorite music. Odor has been known to trigger powerful memories in some people, so this may be a gimmick that plays well to a certain demographic. If it isn’t successful for people, the smellphone might become wildly popular among dogs. Dogs will smell anything and it doesn’t seem to bother them