A Detector For Bad Breath

Sometimes, you may check your breath by cupping your hands to your face and huffing after a garlicky meal. Now, a sensor is devised to do this for you.

With that in mind, a Japanese company has unveiled a prototype phone" target="_blank">cell phone with a built-in bad-breath meter that will let you know if you need to reach for a mint. It also keeps track of your activity level, your pulse, and your paunch, thanks to a built-in pedometer, a pulse meter, and a body-fat analyzer, which sends a small electrical signal through your body to assess its composition.

The prototype Wellness Navigator--a slider phone with a touch screen, manufactured by Mitsubishi--was shown off last week at the Ceatec 2007 exhibition in Tokyo by Japan's NTT DoCoMo, one of the world's leading mobile providers.

Besides alerting users to their racing pulses and foul breath, the phone enables them to set exercise goals and share health data with friends and family. They can also track their caloric intake, using their typical daily diets to establish a baseline and adjusting for splurges by clicking pictures of pizza or spaghetti. Once customized, the phone offers users perky personalized messages encouraging them to keep exercising or get a good night's sleep.