Is it a robot? Is it a phone? No, it’s a RoboHon! A robot smartphone hybrid manufactured by technology firm Sharp.
Combining two of our favourite things: robots and smartphones, this new ‘device’ has just gone on sale in Japan for a not so modest 198,000 yen (that’s £1,280 to those of us in Blighty).
Providing an alternative to your more conventional smartphone, the RoboHon runs on Android 5.0, has its own SIM card, plus a touchscreen on its back, allowing you to receive and make calls… albeit while looking a little bit kooky.
The RoboHon also receives and dictates messages – and while you might not want him/her blurting out your personal messages in the middle of the office – this can be particularly handy, as can its ability to remind you of upcoming events and take memos.
The RoboHon can walk, sit down and stand up. He/she will also dance on request – shaking their metallic booty and proclaiming, rather ostentatiously in my opinion, “look how good I am”. Presumably inspired by 90’s rave culture their eyes also change colour, psychedelically transitioning through every colour in the rainbow, in time to the music.
This pocket-sized pal isn’t all about the good times mind, it’s also a mine of information and will answer questions you ask by trawling the internet to find the right answer (success rate yet to be confirmed).
Like all the best smartphones, RoboHon will also indulge our passion for selfies by using the lens between its eyes to take a photo. It will then bow down in front of you (read into that what you will!) to project a quick shot of the image.
Being multi-talented, RoboHon can also use its (1280 x 720 resolution) projector to beam films, maps and videos onto any flat surface in front of it.
If you’re worried about other people tampering with your talkative pal, don’t worry, it also boasts facial and voice recognition – so it’ll be able to recognise you and your requests.
While it’s unlikely that RoboHon will be released in the UK anytime soon, it’s refreshing to see a technology company that’s still not afraid to break the mould and try something drastically different, *cough Apple*.
That being said, although I like the idea of having a little robot companion I’m not sure I’m ready to give up my smartphone for it just yet!
