Emopa-Equipped Smartphones

Sharp released smartphones equipped with Emopa, a newly developed function that, for example, gives the user audio and text messages, and changes the screen, depending on the time, place, and user's personal needs. The smartphones have been released in models for three major Japanese mobile phone carriers*. The word "Emopa" stands for "emotional partner." The technology incorporated into Sharp's newly released smartphones is based on the Cocoro Engine artificial intelligence used in Sharp's health and environment appliances. Adapting to a range of situations, Emopa knows what the user needs to hear as it gives suggestions regarding what to do next, in the process offering both friendship and comfort. For example, when the user is about to leave home, Emopa's voice will say "Don't forget your umbrella" if the weather forecast calls for rain. Such well-timed messages give the phone a heart and soul and make possible a whole new world of communications between people and their smartphones.

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AQUOS Zeta SH-01G for NTT Docomo, AQUOS Crystal X for SoftBank, and AQUOS Serie Mini SHV31 for KDDI. The KDDI model will be released before the end of 2015.