Cell Phone Sommeliers on the Way?

Japan is reportedly toying with the idea of educating and licensing "sommeliers" to help potential buyers wade through the vast sea of options available for a new cellphone purchase. "Japan's communication ministry is looking to the private sector to manage the potential nightmare exam and certification process, with children's online safety highlighted as an important part of the plan. Mobile sommelier sounds like a pretty sweet title, we can totally feel how an HTC TyTN II might be paired with an earthy unlimited plan followed by the soft nutty finish of a 200-minute a month daytime calling package."

Oenophile on a chip?

[paulthomas]

Here I am, thinking that someone in Japan had come up with a cellphone that could recommend wine pairings.

Re:Where's TFA?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why do you need an article ?

Re:Where's TFA?

[Mike Rubits]

It's actually a trick. By seeing who posts here, we can tell who really DOES read the article!

A future scene.....

[Urger]

Though the original stock comes from Scandinavia the terroir of this particular batch came from Shanghai. You can smell the rich, earthy aroma of circuits left on the assembly line until they were perfectly ripe. Taste high-impact plastic exterior, make sure you taste it on the back of your tongue. As you can tell it's quite a balanced flavor. Quite correct sir, vintage 2002. It takes time to bring a phone to that level of complexity.

Re:Uh?

[Hatta]

I don't remember a cell phone that actually produced a dial tone

Yes, that was my point. Never had a cell phone, never care to have one.

Re:Where's TFA?

[smittyoneeach]

s/who really DOES read the article/who must be new here/

The software is available...

[NotQuiteReal]

For example The Electronic sommelier [gizmag.com] from a couple of years ago...

Now that you have mentioned a consumer demand for it, it will be new cell phone feature soon!

Re:Where's TFA?

[dattaway]

I thought the whole point of slashdot was to heckle the people who DID read the article!

Re:sommeliers

[Anonymous Coward]

RTFA. It's a person that taints meat products.

The Communication Age

[Quiet_Desperation]

we can totally feel how an HTC TyTN II might be paired with an earthy unlimited plan followed by the soft nutty finish of a 200-minute a month daytime calling package."

What the fu-

What is this?

WHAT LANGUAGE IS THIS?

Re:Curious analogy

[PPH]

The analogy between cell phones and wine seems rather strained to me.

Not at all. Obligatory bad car analogy: Neither mix well with driving.

Re:Sommeliers vs. Sommeil?

[plague3106]

Ahh. So they get you drunk with wine before having you sign a cell phone plan. Genius!

Re:Used Car Salesmen-Like People More Likely

[celest]

Apparently not a very good one. I don't see your specials of the week in your sig.

^_^

Re:Where's TFA?

[alta]

After the magic of copy/paste and wikipedia via google, I have learned that it's an overpaid and/or overeducated wine waiter. Reading the term in context would not have helped too terribly much as I would have never drawn the connection between CELL phones and wine CELLars.

Re:Too many features

[AngryNick]

If you need a professional to pick out the features you need on a phone, chances are you don't need all those features in the first place.

Ahhh...but would you notice the subtle differences in one phone's clever UI for navigating photo storage vs. that employed by another, lesser vintage? Or how about the conditions in which the device was manufactured...would you expect Joe Smo to know the values imparted by the region and year of its birth? I think not! Surely you see the need to protect the uninformed so that they too can feel the joy of an expertly paired bluetooth accessory connecting on the first try.

Then again, it does seem kind of stupid.

Translation

[bperkins]

The guy at Best Buy is going to get a haircut, and a suit.
He will clench his teeth together as he tells you what phone you need.

Sounds great.