Getting bored? Talk to Sharp's humanoid smartphone

Tokyo: Japanese electronic device manufacturer Sharp Corporation has unveiled a unique robot-cum-smartphone that not only lets you communicate with your friends but also talks to you through simple verbal commands and also dances if in a good mood!

Named "Robohon", the humanoid smartphone is priced at 198,000 yen ($1,810) and offers a sneak peek into how mobile devices will look like in the coming years, media reports said.

Sharp announced that it will start shipping the device -- currently available only in Japan -- from May 26 with pre-orders now open, technology website venturebeat.com reported on Friday.

The 8-inch Robohon weighs little less than 450 grams, features a two-inch QVGA display on its back and runs on Android 5.0.
"Robohon" is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and has a 720p projector embedded in its head.

The 4G-enabled humanoid smartphone can talk in simple commands and the company is working on a companion fishing app and a simple taxi app that connects with the company's national taxi network just by telling the robot to call a taxi.

"I cannot think of any other consumer products that are as challenging as this, at least in the recent years," famed robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi, who collaborated on the Robohon, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, with such entry-level specifications for an Android phone, experts think that "Robohon" is a bit over-priced. "I do not think this will be a major hit item. It is too big to carry around as a smartphone.

Some hard-core robot fans would buy this at the launch, but that would be it," an analyst Hideki Yasuda, was quoted as saying in a Wall Street Journal report.

Other apps in development for the robot smartphone aim to help with recipes and discovering nearby restaurants, cafes and bars.