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Japanese Gadget Allows iPhone Users to Smell Food [VIDEO]

By Cheri Cheng | Update Date: Oct 30, 2013 11:56 AM EDT

Even though pictures of food can be enticing, it is the smells and the taste that signal pleasure to the brain. For decades, people have watched food shows and have seen pictures of delicious foods without being able to smell the aromas or taste the flavors. Now, a Japanese gadget hopes to change that experience for people. This gadget, which is designed to be compatible with the iPhone, can bring smells to the iPhone users.

According to the company, Scentee, when this portable gadget is attached to the iPhone, it is capable of releasing aromas ranging from savory to flowery. The device, which was designed in a spherical shape, holds cartridges. Each cartridge has a designated smell that the user can change depending on his/her mood. The gadget only needs to be charged via the phone's headphone jack.

"The iPod made music portable. We want to do that for scent," the CEO of Scentee, Koki Tsubouchi said according to NPR news.

The company has also designed an app called Hana Yakiniku, which translates to "nose grilled meat," to go along with the gadget. This particular app is programmed to have three food scents, which are short ribs, grilled beef and buttered potatoes. Even though the company has advertised the product by stating that smells can replace food and satisfy cravings, there have been no scientific evidence that this is possible or safe to do. The company stated that the app and device were created for entertainment purposes. They hope that people will enjoy it and find it fun to use.

Not only does the gadget focus on foods, the company reiterates that there will also be gadgets with flowery scents. Scentee plans on releasing an entire series of apps that will connect the gadget to other phone features, such as text messaging, alarm clock and alerts. This way, people can smell whatever they desire when they wake up first thing in the morning or when they receive a text message.

The device will be available in Japan by mid-November and in the United States by late November. The gadget will cost around $35 with each cartridge costing $5.

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