From early December, the Bow-Lingual CONNECT service which converts dog barks into text and graphic illustrations of a dog's emotions, will be available to users who buy a special smart card for a new handset developed by Japanese electronics giant Sharp, Vodafone KK said in a statement.

"After inserting the card into the ... card slot and booting the Bow-Lingual CONNECT application, if a customer comes within 40 centimetresinches) of a dog, barks will be analysed resulting in text and illustrations of six dog feelings -- happy, sad, frustrated, on-guard/territorial, assertive/showing off and needy," the statement said.

Bow-Lingual, a computerized gadget that interprets the warp and woof of a dog's life for its owner, was first unveiled in August 2001 by major toymaker Takara Co. Ltd and became a smash hit when it went on sale in Japan in September last year.

Overseas release followed earlier this year, to be followed by a cat-language version, Meow-Lingual in November.

With competition fierce in a saturated market, and digital still and video pictures, navigation functions using global positioning satellites (GPS) and television tuners already incorporated into mobile handsets, Japanese companies are having to be ever more imaginative in their efforts to win subscribers.

SPACE.WIRE