It’s been about half a year since Amazon expanded its Echo line of connected speakers with the introduction of a $90 Amazon Echo Dot and $130 Amazon Tap.
Now it looks like there may be an even cheaper option on the way: Amazon tweeted last night about an “all-new Echo Dot” priced at $49.99.
The tweet has been deleted and the link goes to the page for the out-of-stock first-gen Echo Dot. But it sure looks like Amazon plans to launch a cheaper model soon.
Update: It’s official. The new Echo Dot costs $50 (or you can buy 6 for the price of 5).
The Amazon Echo was the first device to use Amazon’s Alexa voice service. The $180 device is an internet-connected, Bluetooth-capable speaker with far-field microphones that can pick up your voice from across the room, even in a noisy environment. You can ask Alexa questions, use it to add items to your shopping list, get news and traffic updates, and even play games.
Since launching the $180 Echo in 2014, Amazon has opened up Alexa to third-party hardware developers, so the service is baked into a growing number of products from Amazon and other companies. But it’s pretty clear that Amazon views its Siri/Cortana/Google Assistant-competitor as a key selling point for its own products.
Alexa is now built into Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire tablets, as well as its Echo, Tap, and Dot.
With a $50 price tag, the new Echo Dot would be one of the cheapest ways to bring Alexa into your home.
The original Echo Dot was basically a small speaker with audio output jacks, allowing you to either use the device like a sort of clock radio with a lousy built-in speaker or hook it up to your stereo system for better audio.
It’s not clear yet what, if any changes Amazon has made to bring down the price of the new model. It’ also unclear if you still need to order an Echo Dot through Alexa. The original model was not available for purchase directly from the Amazon website.
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If Google launches their home voice search product with their usual gusto they are screwed I think. Typical them would be to just set it out on the market and wait a couple years to see if third parties flock to it even though most of their own businesses don’t even support it (see Android TV).
Amazon meanwhile really has their shoulder in on this. Google is going to have to hit the ground and really run like hell to catch them. That’s not something I’ve seen Google actually do before. Hopefully this being essentially a search product, their core business, it will light a fire under them.
I’m a Prime member. The Prime music service is so bad that I could never buy any Echo. It’s just ridiculous that I have to first add each song or album to playlists before I can play them. With Google Play Music I can instantly play any song in the world. That’s why I’ll buy Google’s Home speaker. I want to use it to play music.
I’m not a Prime member. Primarily because I’ve been unimpressed with some of Amazon’s business tactics. Like refusing to stock competitors products or not making apps on competitors platforms. I wasn’t prepared to buy new hardware – theirs – and change my whole set up just to use their product. I might be into the Alexa platform though as it connects to third parties very well. The ifttt connection alone might be worth it at $50. I’d much prefer Google because I both use their services and like them better as a company. I’m not sure how much the services will mean for a while though as they’ve said the ability for their product to recognize people and utilize their account info is a hoped future. And that’s for a product which isn’t even out yet. With multiple people in the house that means I probably won’t be able to… Read more »
Check out “Evo – an intelligent Battery Base for Amazon Echo Dot (“Alexa” unlimited)”, to be released September 25th, available for pre-order. Could be a clue to the new DOT relaese date here