Japanese kitchenware specialist Balmuda paused sales of its first smartphone after less than two months, citing issues related to meeting technical standards.

The company, best known for selling high-end toasters, informed customers on its website it would be temporarily halting sales of its JPY104,800 ($907.68) mobile handset on its own sales channels and through partner SoftBank Corp.

“It was found that there are items to be confirmed regarding the certification of technical standard conformity”, Balmuda explained adding this was following a report from contract manufacturer Kyocera.

Terminals already in use will continue to work normally, it noted.

Balmuda made its entry into the smartphone market in November 2021, promoting the handset on being palm-sized and the camera’s ability to take high quality images of food.

Balmuda Phone has reportedly been poorly received by critics, with Reuters claiming the response to the smartphone venture had been responsible for a significant drop in the company’s share price.