Softbank unveils Light and Dark Side Star Wars phones

Fancy celebrating the upcoming release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story with a brand new phone? Well, you're in luck (if you live in Japan.)

SoftBank, one of the country's largest mobile providers, has unveiled a pair of Star Wars branded smartphones to coincide with the release of Rogue One, letting owners swear their allegiance to either the light or dark side of The Force.

Oddly, they're not specifically Rogue One branded, though. The Dark Side phone is black and bears the Imperial logo on its rear, while the Light Side one is white with the Rebel Alliance icon. On SoftBank's site, they're also marked by Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, respectively, both appearing as they did circa 1977's A New Hope.

The specs for the phones are decent but it's still a way from the likes of the award-winning Samsung Galaxy S7.

Softbank's offering, made by Sharp, packs in a Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB of storage with a microSD slot to expand it, and a 3000mAh battery, all housed behind a 5.3-inch, 1080p IGZO screen. Both versions are 7.6mm thick, and weigh in at 155g. Perhaps the most impressive feature is the 22.6MP camera, though Japanese owners will be pleased the handsets also come with a built-in TV tuner.

More excitingly are the host of Star Wars specific goodies that come with the phones. Running on Android 6.0, each model has the OS skinned to match the allegiance, and has corresponding live wallpaper that models the cockpit view from a TIE Fighter or X-Wing. They both come pre-loaded with the Star Wars: Force Collection digital card game, Star Wars emoji and ringtones, and a themed alarm clock app.

The phones also come with a movie player app that provides a free copy of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, viewable until 2020, and five metal figurines based on Rogue One - the only direct link to director Gareth Edwards' sci-fi heist movie.

The film is set to follow Jyn Erso, a young loner, who is drawn into the Rebel Alliance. Set shortly before the original Star Wars, it follows Erso (The Theory of Everything's Felicity Jones) and her rag-tag group on a quest to retrieve the plans for the Death Star. Rogue One also features actors Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, and Donnie Yen, with Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso - Jyn's estranged father who is connected to the Death Star's creation.

The Star Wars phones will be available in Japan from December 2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens in the UK on December 16.