Researchers at Bonn University in Germany have created a new way to read SMS as a "tactile melody". They are now working on a software that would customize the device to individual users, allowing them to set up their own touch vocabulary.

Full report in BBC Online.

Travelers landing in Tokyo's Narita Airport - which has the ambition to be the most technologically advanced in the world - can rent PDA translators. The e-Navi is able to listen to your voice and translate your sentences with the help of 50,000 Japanese words and 25,000 English (including slang) in a matter of seconds. Besides, e-Navi can be used as as a mobile phone, offers airport information guide and unlimited web browsing.

NEC first developed the technology on Papero (couldn't resist inserting a picture of it), a robotic voice translating dog before adapting it to handhelds.

For English and Japanese voice samples, visit the e-Navi site

Full report in BBC Online

Take a microphone, a loudspeaker, a battery and a voice-recognition chip and pack them into a standard-sized credit card: you'll get an idea of the prototype Californian engineers of Beepcard created. That credit card cannot make any transaction unless it hears its owner's voice, preventing thus fraudsters from stealing and using it.
Read New Scientist.

PDD, the British company specialized in product innovation, has developed SNIF- Sexy New Intelligent Fragrance - a fragrance device with a sensory intelligence that monitors both the body conditions of the person wearing it, and his/her direct environment. These readings are then processed to release the optimum level of scent.

The smell is diffused by controlled evaporation using an ASIC chip (or Application Specific Integrated Circuit, a semiconductor chip produced for a specific application for a specific customer), miniature battery and heat elements.

Found on Shiny Shiny

Siemens and Swiss text-to-speech specialist SVOX AG are developing Smart Avatars which act like personal assistants to smartphone users. They read e-mail aloud, are able to reschedule a meeting if, say, a plane is late, by informing other meeting participants via SMS, or surf the Web for MP3 songs, ringtones or downloads.
See WirelessWeek.

In Australia, visitors who pre-register online for events like concert or exhibition, can receive the usual confirmation via e-mail but also a barcode by SMS to their mobile phone. At their arrival at the show, they just have to present the barcode and have it scanned at the door to gain access.
The delivery of registration information by sms cut postage and handling costs in the pre-registration process, is fast and the message reminds the visitor of the coming event.

The system was developed by Sydney registration specialists Info Salons Australia in co-operation with message experts LegionONE.
From ZDNet via Textually.