In recent years, smart home devices and gadgets with voice assistants have increasingly grown in popularity. This holds especially true for IoT devices like Amazon Echo, Google Home (Nest Hub products) and more. Notably, these products have been fairly well received in India, which is the second-largest smartphone market and an emerging region for IoT smart home products as well.

Now, Amazon is seeking to grow its Alexa voice assistant supporting lineup with the latest launch of the Echo Auto for the Indian market.

Amazon Echo Auto

The latest smart IoT product announced by Amazon is designed exclusively for automobiles, namely cars. Amazon Echo Auto enables users to access Amazon Alexa in the car; through which one can stream music from any service that supports Alexa and also ask information regarding a wide variety of topics.

The device in and of itself does not possess a physical speaker, rather it connects to the car’s audio systems via a 3.5mm audio jack. It is powered by a standard 12V electrical socket, the ones that are usually found in almost every car nowadays. Amazon Echo Auto is equipped with 8 microphones that listen for the “Alexa” wake command. Apart from streaming music, the voice assistant can also grant access to audiobooks, Alexa Skills, information on landmarks and other points of interest.

Editor’s Pick: TCL teases its first foldable smartphone and 5G Handset at CES 2020

Amazon Echo Auto features only two physical buttons on its body. One is the action button and the other is for muting the microphone. Under the hood, the device is powered by a MediaTek MT7697 processor which enables hands-free voice control access to users’ smartphones; and by its extension calls, messages and more.

Price and Availability

Amazon’s latest smart IoT gadget for cars is currently available for pre-orders and is being sold for a price of 4,999 INR (or roughly 69 USD or 482 CNY). It will officially start shipping on the 15th of January 2020.

UP NEXT: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold arrives with a foldable OLED display, priced at $2499 (17,370 CNY)

The post Amazon Echo Auto Launched in India for INR 4,999 ($69) appeared first on Gizmochina.

U.S e-commerce giant Amazon has launched a good number of new Echo devices all integrating Alexa smart virtual assistant. The new devices include the Amazon Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Plus and Echo Auto. The four new gadgets all adopt affordable price tags and have as their main feature, the Alexa smart virtual assistant which is integrated with all four products. Among the lot, the Echo Auto is the entirely new product but the trio of Echo Plus, Echo Show and Echo Dot are upgraded versions of already existing Amazon smart home products.

The new Echo Dot is the third generation model of Amazon’s smart speaker integrated with Alexa. The design is similar to those of its predecessor. Just that this time around, Amazon utilises a new fabric design instead of plastic. The smart speaker is also available in three colours. The new speaker is also said to be louder and richer. Apart from these, the functionality remains similar to its predecessors. The smart speaker comes in at $49.99 and is presently on pre-order on Amazon.

The Echo Plus is also a next-gen model (2nd gen) and comes with similar upgrades with a new fabric design replacing the plastic one from last year. There is also an upgraded 3-inch speaker with more solid and deeper bass as well as clearer mids and highs. The device includes a built-in Zigbee hub for easily connecting to smart home devices that use the Zigbee protocol. The pricing is, however, the same $149.99 as the previous model. The Echo plus is also open for pre-orders on Amazon while shipping will commence on October 11.

The third product known as Echo Show comes with a significant upgrade over the previous model bearing the same moniker. There is a giant leap to a huge 10-inch HD display which is the largest you’ll get on any Echo device. The sound system is also upgraded as it now features two 2-inch drivers armed with a passive radiator and Dolby audio processing. The device equally features a built-in Zigbee hub for easily connecting to smart home devices that use the Zigbee protocol just like the Echo Plus.

In addition, the Echo Show packs a new 5MP front-facing camera for HD video calls. When Alexa gets support for Skype audio and video calls, users will be able to make Skype calls from the Echo Show. The device can also be used for browsing as it comes preinstalled with Amazon’s Silk browser. Despite the massive upgrade, the new Echo Show is priced at the same $229.99 as the previous model. Pre-orders are also being accepted on Amazon.

The new Echo Auto is an all-new smart Echo device for cars. The device comes with a $24.99 price tag which makes it the cheapest Echo device so far. The gadget lets users access Alexa inside their car. It taps power from a car’s 12V power outlet or using a USB port. The device also connects to the car using Bluetooth or an aux cable. There is also the option to connect using an FM transmitter adapter.

Echo Auto has a built-in 8-microphone stack designed for in-car acoustics, Echo Auto can hear you over music, A/C, and road noise. There is also a dashboard mount with which it is attached firmly to the car’s dashboard. With voice prompt, users can play music, check the news, open the garage door, find the nearest gas station, and more. It also enables you to make calls, set reminders, add items to your shopping and to-do lists, or manage your calendar. Unfortunately, Amazon indicates that Echo Auto will not be available now. Instead,  the product will be available by invitation only later this year.

The post Amazon launches four new Echo products dubbed Echo Dot, Show, Plus and Auto appeared first on Gizmochina.