If Gan Qiang has his way, you may soon be able to smell the person calling your mobile phone. The Chinese engineer filed a patent last year for a “method for emanating different odours via communication terminal” for incoming calls, short messages or e-mails.

The patent is one of more than 1,500 filed on behalf of Huawei in 2008, making the Chinese telecoms equipment maker the world’s top international patent applicant, ahead of the likes of Panasonic, Philips, Toyota and Bosch.