Japanese cellphones to turn into 'robot' buddies

For those who feel a bit lonely just talking on the phone, a Japanese company is offering a cellphone that turns into a robot buddy ready to chat.

Softbank Mobile Corp.'s new mobile line looks like a small humanoid with attachable arms and legs, with the screen showing various faces.

The PhoneBraver will be released in April after a character in an upcoming television drama series entitled "Cellphone Investigator 7."

The telephone comes with enough artificial intelligence to learn the user's habits.

If the user calls a particular person many times, a text phrase such as "You're calling her often these days, aren't you?" might appear coming out of the face's mouth, according to Softbank Mobile spokesman Katsuhide Furuya.

The user could carry on conversations with the phone by responding "yes" or "no" or with other simple replies.

"We haven't decided on specifics yet on the communication between the user and mobile, but your mobile would grow into a buddy different from others that is unique in the world," he said.

The PhoneBraver does not move by itself but can strike a pose with movable joints. The price is not disclosed yet.

Japan is known for its fondness for humanoids, which have been put to use as security guards, receptionists and for other functions in a country with a declining birth rate.

Japan also has cutthroat competition in mobile telephones, with three main companies constantly trying to find new incentives to snare users.

The number of cellphone subscriptions topped 100 million in Japan at the end of December against the nation's total population of 127 million, according to industry data.

觉得一个人打手机有点孤单的人现在不用发愁了，日本一家公司将推出一款能陪主人“聊天”的机器人手机。

软银移动公司推出的这款新型手机外形像个小机器人，有胳膊有腿，屏幕上还能显示各种不同的面部表情。

这款“PhoneBraver”手机将于四月份面世，它得名于即将播出的电视连续剧《手机调查者7号》中的一个角色。

这款手机应用了大量的人工智能，能够了解用户的习惯。

据软银移动公司发言人本木诚章介绍，如果用户多次呼叫某一特定对象，“机器人”的嘴里（显示在屏幕上）可能就会冒出“最近你是不是老给她打电话？”此类的话语。

用户可以用“是”、“否”或其他一些简单的回答与手机交流。

他说：“用户与手机交流的一些细节问题还未确定，但这款手机的与众不同之处在于，它可以成为你的伙伴，这在世界上是独一无二的。”

PhoneBraver手机自己不能移动，但由于它的关节可以活动，所以能够摆出各种不同的姿势。目前，这款手机的价格还未公布。

日本一直以对机器人情有独钟而闻名。日本的出生率持续下降，机器人已被应用于保安、接待及其他一些岗位。

日本手机行业的竞争也很激烈，国内三大运营商为了吸引用户一直在努力寻求新的策略。

日本共有1.27亿人口。据业内统计数据显示，截至去年12月底，日本的手机用户数量已超过1亿。

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