Amazon drops battery-powered Echo speaker so you can play Despacito on the go Amazon today announced a new battery-powered version of its ubiquitous Echo speakers. The snappily named Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker Edition (which we'll henceforth referring to as EIPSSE because that's a mouthful) costs ₹5,999 (about £65/$85) and is an Indian exclusive. EIPSSE packs a 4,800mAh battery, which Amazon …
Same here, Amazon releases may have been easier for us over 20 something year olds to understand.
I'm thinking dropping it would be the first thing I would do if one appeared in my house though since unplugging the the thing would probably still let it listen to me cooking the dinner or whatever :/
OK, Boomer - you obviously don't know that using a music industry slang term for introducing a product from two decades back in a vacuous attempt to appear current is SO much more important than communicating the facts in a clear manner. Also, can you spare $10? Your kind have ruined my ability to buy lunch because... yeah, you owe me!
Almost as bad as 'shutter' when 'closed' is just as good and one less character.
As for the word 'boomer'...
Perhaps putting a [insert explosive device of choice] under your chair might make people a bit less free with that Insult.
{We did make big bangs in Chemistry when I was at school}
I have a pair of Echo Tap units, they must have been delivered via a wormhole from the future.
The tap originally required pushing a button to give commands (hence "tap") but a software update allows it to listen at the expense of battery life. It's a great product that was seemingly discontinued for no reason. It still is a second-class citizen in the alexa ecosystem as you cannot use it to communicate or send/receive an announcement.
Either way, your research team needs a kick in the ghoulies on this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Tap-Portable-wireless-Bluetooth-Speaker-with-WiFi-Alexa/dp/B01BH83OOM
My first thought when I saw a battery powered echo was WHY?
Surely most places you are going to use this you will already have access to power or your mobile phone can do everything this can do already. If you do want to use your Echo outside, but why not just plug it into a 10k mA power pack? Or just use a regular bluetooth speaker and slave it to your phone.
So again, what is the point of this?
It seems that commenters here do not understand the possible use-cases of a portable echo. Let me see if I can help here.
1. The Tap has a friction cradle, so there is no plugging/unplugging. If you elect for the "listen for wake word" option, when it is not being used as a portable it behaves like a normal echo, but with far superior sound quality to the Dot. Since there is no way to transfer playback of a stream, it's quite nice to pick up and carry the Tap to continue listening to a podcast in another room (that might even have an echo of it's own).
2. Porch/patio. When going to spend time outside, the tap is convenient, as long as it is in wifi range. Because weather, it is not possible to leave a wired unit outside at all times.
3. It's a great bluetooth speaker as well.
4. When you are OK with others putting music on, it's a lot better than unlocking and handing someone your phone.
5. It's great for parties. When we use a community center for a kid's party, we bring the Tap and set a phone up as a hotspot. The little kids are familiar with how to use the Tap and it allows them to choose their own entertainment.
6. It sounds good. IMHO, the tap has a better sound than my 1st gen Echo (fullsize).
7. It works when the power is out. A moderate sized UPS can keep the wireless and internet up for 24+ hours. The Tap happily chugs along in non-listen mode for at least 10 hours.
8. If you are paranoid about having an echo listening all the time, the Tap is a great compromise. Push-to-use eliminates that feeling of being spied upon.
9. Vacation. Tap + hotspot = music on the beach
10. Small flats. Our second Tap is used by my MIL. Her apartment is quite small and she prefers keeping the Tap close to her at a low volume so that her neighbors don't complain.
Since it is apparent that most of the commenters are either too young to have owned a boombox, too affluent to have been limited to a single device, or too permanently glued to their phones to understand the concept of not using it for something, I doubt this will advance the conversation. It is nice to occasionally point out to those unable to understand that others may have requirements different from their own, that other people do in fact exist, and have their own preferences and modalities for technology usage (and that nobody requires the approval of the diaper-and-tide-pod cohort).
-OK X-er
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
