Lonely people longing for pictures of their loved ones to speak will now have their dream answered by raising a finger.
A Tokyo day-care company will next week begin marketing a “talking picture”, which can play messages of up to 12 minutes long when the reader uses a pen-shaped scanner that reads invisible barcodes on the photograph.
“The pictures would be useful for those who hope to hear the voice of someone living far away,” said Mayumi Fuji, a spokesperson for the company, CombiWith.
“Grandparents, for example, eager to know about their grandchildren, would be delighted to hear their voice when they see the picture,” Fuji said.
But it is also substantially more hassle than using a telephone.
The talking picture requires a photo shoot with the company and costs between 17 040 and 17 990 yen (R970 and R1 000), depending on the size of the picture and type of listening device. — AFP