Sharp might be highly competitive in the world of television sets and other home appliances, but in the mobile arena, things aren't so booming for the Japanese tech giant. To make their presence felt on that front, the company recently unveiled a robot/smartphone hybrid called the Sharp RoboHon.

According to Sharp, via Phone Arena, the RoboHon is a miniature robot that can move and light up while acting as both a smartphone and a digital assistant.

The RoBoHoN's arsenal of movements includes waving, walking, squatting and even dancing. Sharp said the idea behind the robot is to present users with a more interactive mobile device as an alternative to the "cold-hearted" digital assistants currently featured on top-tier smartphones. Needless to say, other virtual intelligence programs such as Siri, Google Now and Cortana can't blink and clap like RoBoHon can.

Apart from its tangible abilities, RoBoHon is fashioned to literally react to commands. It is fitted with an always-on microphone that is continually waiting to fulfill orders. Also, it has a face-detection system that can greet people and tell them to smile.

Similar to its virtual counterparts, RoBoHon can schedule reminders, set alarms, read and reply to emails while having the basic capabilities of a smartphone like text messaging and making calls. It also has a built-in projector that can be used to watch movies and display maps. It also doubles as an electronic photo album.

Specs-wise, the eight-inch high RoBoHon only differs in appearance from other modern-day mobile devices. It has Qualcomm's Snapdragon 400 on chip and support for Wi-Fi, 3G and LTE connectivity. Moreover, it comes with a two-inch 240 x 320 touchscreen display and an unspecified camera unit.

Strangely enough, Sharp did not reveal what operating system the RoBoHon runs straight out the box. But basing from its recently unveiled promotional video, tech pundits expect it to run on Android.

The Sharp RoBoHon will launch in Japan sometime in the first quarter of 2016. As of the moment, information on the pricing and global availability of the robot have remained elusive.

The novelty was showcased at the CEATEC expo in Japan and was designed by Tomotaka Takahashi. The distinguished inventor said the machine is "the next generation of mobile information communication terminal," as per Mail Online.

In other Sharp news, Uber Gizmo reported that the company also unveiled the Sharp transparent display at CEATEC.

The next-gen screen can totally block out anything behind its display when in use, akin to an electronic camouflage blanket. When turned off, the screen looks nothing different from a common transparent glass display case.