First Amazon Echo portable speaker to hit the shelves in December
The Amazon Echo Input gets a portable sibling
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Amazonhas launched its first portable Echo speaker, the Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition.
The new battery-powered Echo speaker was designed exclusively for India, but will be coming to other markets in the future, according toTech Crunch, and will begin shipping from December 18.
It’s priced at 5,999 Indian rupees, which works out at around $84 / £70 / AU$160 based on current conversion rates – although the pricing could be quite different when it launches in Western markets.That’s significantly more expensive than the $34.99 / £34.99Echo Input, the speaker-less Alexa device that was launched in 2018 to allow users to bring the smarts of Alexa to their old-school Hi-Fi systems. The newportable speakershares the same ‘hardware architecture’ as that device.
It’s also more expensive than the $49.99 / £49.99 / AU$79Echo Dot, although the convenience of portability could justify the new Input’s relatively high price.
Plus, you can currently preorder the new Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition for an introductory price of 4,999 rupees (about $70 / £60 / AU$130).
A long-awaited feature
With a wraparound speaker grille, much like the Echo Dot, the new Input Portable Speaker Edition comes with up to 10 hours of battery life when playing music (or up to 11 hours of standby time).
An LED array on the top of the speaker indicates battery life when you press the power button.
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Like all Echo speakers, theAmazon EchoInput Portable Speaker Edition comes with the smarts of Alexa built right in, so you can ask the voice assistant questions, control your other smart home devices, and access around 30,000Alexa skills.
There’s no word on when the new speaker will come to Western markets, but portability has been a long-requested feature for Echo speakers.
The launch of a new portable Echo speaker could prompt rivals such asGoogleandAppleto create their own portable models – so could we see a battery-poweredGoogle Nest Miniin 2020?
ViaTech Crunch
Olivia was previously TechRadar’s Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she’s a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She’s previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.
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