This Smartphone Comes with a Concierge Service

It’s not easy standing out in the smartphone game. Apple and Samsung Electronics pretty much have the market locked up with high-performance phones that look pretty and work well. The response from Turing Robotic Industries? A $1,600 phone linked to a high-end concierge service overseen by a digital assistant named Sir Alan.

The Appassionato, which means “enthusiast” in Italian, is the latest effort from Turing, which says the phone was designed in Finland and manufactured in China. The company says the gadget is constructed of liquid metal, features a 5.5-inch OLED screen and will run a custom version of Android. The Appassionato also has a bird feather design on the back that changes color depending on lighting conditions.

The phone is sleek, but Turing Chief Executive Officer Syl Chao sees the concierge service as the main attraction. In an interview, Chao says Sir Alan is adept at booking travel, making dinner reservations and procuring concert tickets. Let’s say your kid wants a penguin for his birthday party tomorrow. Sir Alan can make that happen, Chao says. In a test, the digital knight booked a one-way charter flight on a Boeing 767 from San Francisco to Honolulu (for $385,000).