<p>The cutest robo-smartphone ever made is hitting shelves in Japan next month — but is it cute enough to drop almost £1,300?<br /><br /></p>.<p>RoBoHoN (which translates roughly as “heart moving phone”) is an adorable tiny robot, which doubles up as a smartphone. Or is it a smartphone that doubles up as a robot?<br />Either way, the happy little bot is a surprisingly powerful piece of technology in its own right.<br /><br />Created by Japanese electronics firm Sharp, RoBoHoN is a 20cm tall robot phone. It’s capable of walking around your home or office (but probably on a table rather than the floor) and acts as a small personal assistant. It’ll read out phone messages, announce phone calls and even shout at you when it’s time to wake up.<br /><br />But as well as being a supercharged, super-cute version of Siri, the bot is also equipped with facial recognition technology that allows it to interact with its owner on a more personal level, greeting them by name as they enter the room.<br /><br />The projector buried in its head also allows it to beam images on to flat surfaces: perfect for sharing photos, or (apparently) beaming a picture of some food on to a plate so you can copy the layout of the dish.<br /><br />Of course, the downside to all this is that if you want to use your adorable phonebot as an actual phone, you’ll have to hold what looks like a child’s toy to your ear, bum-side first.<br /><br />Oh yes, there’s another downside too: the price. RoBoHoN costs ¥198,000 (£1,282), and there’s a recurring service fee to pay on top of that. But I’ve had friendships far more expensive – and less fulfilling – than the one RoBoHoN offers, and not one of them has been with someone with a projector installed in their forehead.</p>
<p>The cutest robo-smartphone ever made is hitting shelves in Japan next month — but is it cute enough to drop almost £1,300?<br /><br /></p>.<p>RoBoHoN (which translates roughly as “heart moving phone”) is an adorable tiny robot, which doubles up as a smartphone. Or is it a smartphone that doubles up as a robot?<br />Either way, the happy little bot is a surprisingly powerful piece of technology in its own right.<br /><br />Created by Japanese electronics firm Sharp, RoBoHoN is a 20cm tall robot phone. It’s capable of walking around your home or office (but probably on a table rather than the floor) and acts as a small personal assistant. It’ll read out phone messages, announce phone calls and even shout at you when it’s time to wake up.<br /><br />But as well as being a supercharged, super-cute version of Siri, the bot is also equipped with facial recognition technology that allows it to interact with its owner on a more personal level, greeting them by name as they enter the room.<br /><br />The projector buried in its head also allows it to beam images on to flat surfaces: perfect for sharing photos, or (apparently) beaming a picture of some food on to a plate so you can copy the layout of the dish.<br /><br />Of course, the downside to all this is that if you want to use your adorable phonebot as an actual phone, you’ll have to hold what looks like a child’s toy to your ear, bum-side first.<br /><br />Oh yes, there’s another downside too: the price. RoBoHoN costs ¥198,000 (£1,282), and there’s a recurring service fee to pay on top of that. But I’ve had friendships far more expensive – and less fulfilling – than the one RoBoHoN offers, and not one of them has been with someone with a projector installed in their forehead.</p>
