This article was published on April 14, 2016

Sharp’s robot smartphone is real and costs a whopping $1,800


Sharp’s robot smartphone is real and costs a whopping $1,800 Image by: Sharp

Late last year, Sharp announced its absurd plans to build a talking, dancing robot that doubled as a smartphone. As if its form factor wasn’t crazy enough, the company is now taking pre-orders for the RoboHon with a price of $1,800 (198,000 Yen).

That’s a lot of money for what’s essentially a high-tech toy. Sure, it has Android 5.0, a 2-inch screen, voice recognition and can project videos, but it’s hard to imagine anyone using the Robohon as their primary phone.

You’ll also have to shell out $6 a month for its voice recognition features, which let you interact with the device and do things like hail a cab and create reminders. The idea is that you’ll primarily talk to your RoboHon to access its functions rather than use apps on its screen, which means it won’t be much fun unless you pay that monthly fee.

If you’re still interested in a walking, talking phone, you’ll be able to get your hands on the RoboHon on May 26 in Japan. Sharp says it’s working to bring it to other countries as well.

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