Smart Phone Says Who's Calling

American scientists have devised the most telltale telephone since Alexander Graham Bell rang the next room and said "Mr Watson, come here, I want you!"

They have patented a receiver system which, like a butler at an embassy reception, announces the caller's name as the phone rings.

Intelligent phones are not new. One US service provides mellifluous computer voices for callers with speech disability; another turns typed text into sound for the listener. Many phones already provide caller ID in the form of a telephone number.

But according to New Scientist today, the latest wheeze from AT&T laboratories combines caller number with subscriber data and a voice synthesiser that will identify not just the caller's number but the name as well.

Widespread use would of course mean that telephones would be answered with even greater urgency ("Darling, I thought you'd never phone!") or not at all. Stalkers and anonymous heavy breathers could be identified in advance. Double-glazing sellers, gas and electricity providers and call centres could be ignored or greeted with a loud, uncompromising "no!", and anxious creditors and tiresome suitors might be kept waiting.

The service would also announce the name of the person meant to receive the call - so a caller would learn of any misdial and be able to hang up in time to avoid that other ritual exchange: "I'm afraid you've got the wrong number."