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.

    覺得一個人打手機有點孤單的人現在不用發愁了，日本一家公司將推出一款能陪主人“聊天”的機器人手機。

    軟銀移動公司推出的這款新型手機外形像個小機器人，有胳膊有腿，屏幕上還能顯示各種不同的面部表情。

    這款“PhoneBraver”手機將于四月份面世，它得名于即將播出的電視連續劇《手機調查者7號》中的一個角色。

    這款手機應用了大量的人工智能，能夠了解用戶的習慣。

    據軟銀移動公司發言人本木誠章介紹，如果用戶多次呼叫某一特定對象，“機器人”的嘴里（顯示在屏幕上）可能就會冒出“最近你是不是老給她打電話？”此類的話語。

    用戶可以用“是”、“否”或其他一些簡單的回答與手機交流。

    他說：“用戶與手機交流的一些細節問題還未確定，但這款手機的與眾不同之處在于，它可以成為你的伙伴，這在世界上是獨一無二的。”

    PhoneBraver手機自己不能移動，但由于它的關節可以活動，所以能夠擺出各種不同的姿勢。目前，這款手機的價格還未公布。

    日本一直以對機器人情有獨鐘而聞名。日本的出生率持續下降，機器人已被應用于保安、接待及其他一些崗位。

    日本手機行業的競爭也很激烈，國內三大運營商為了吸引用戶一直在努力尋求新的策略。

    日本共有1.27億人口。據業內統計數據顯示，截至去年12月底，日本的手機用戶數量已超過1億。