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dogs posts

Ringtones for dogs coming to Japanese cellphones

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jun 20th 2008 @ 8:11PM

Just when you think you've given your dog everything it could ever want (gold plated water dish, rhinestone collar, a copy of Tegan and Sara's "The Con" on vinyl) the Japanese go and one up you. A Tokyo-based content provider named Dwango announced today that it would start selling specialized ringtones which can be heard only by dogs. The service, called Inu ni shika kikoenai chakushinon (ringtones only dogs can hear) will make free downloads available to current DoCoMo i-mode subscribers. No word on whether the company will provide Bluetooth headsets and holsters suited to our canine friends, but we understand plans are in the works for a line of bacon-themed wallpapers. [Warning: read link is a PDF, and it's in Japanese]

[Via CrunchGear]

Korean dog translation service gets premium upgrade

by Evan Blass, posted May 11th 2006 @ 8:00PM

You probably thought it was pretty silly when you heard that Korea's second largest wireless carrier, KTF, began offering a service last year that can supposedly discern your dog's emotions from a few barks into the phone. Well the "doggy translation" service has proven so popular, that not only did the top Korean carrier roll out its own implementation, but SK Telecom is now offering a premium version of the service that seems to give users access to a sort of pet lovers' mobile community where they can query veterinarians, make a homepage for their little bundle of fur, or purchase pet-related items online at a discount. The core service will remain the same, continuing to offer two-way translation (yes, your voice can be converted into barks as well) for about 55 breeds of dogs, although cat lovers must continue to gauge their pet's mood by the intensity of his/her hissing and scratching.

[Picture credit: Telecoms Korea]