BPL to launch Alexa-powered smart speaker next year

Amazon is high on hopes with its Echo branded smart speakers for the rapidly growing Indian market. However, we have seen that a new technology from the west has to be made affordable for gaining traction in a demanding market like India. Therefore, Amazon is working with BPL, one of India’s renowned consumer electronics manufacturers, to roll out an affordable Alexa-powered smart speaker.

The compact smart speaker will be called the BPL Voice One and will use Amazon’s Alexa as it primary voice assistant. As with all Alexa-powered speakers, users will be able to play music, set alarms and timers, provide information, check calendar, weather, sports scores, manage to-do and shopping lists, control smart home devices, amongst others, on the Voice One. BPL claims that audio will be crisp and clear on the Voice One and it will also use built-in noise cancellation microphones for recording.

The BPL Voice One is still in prototype stage and will be ready by early 2018. the company says that they will also price it ‘attractively’ to appeal to the masses. Amazon’s own Echo Dot is currently available for a price of Rs 3,149 and the BPL Voice One could be priced lower than that, making it a more appealing product in the Indian market. All we need to do is wait and see how the smart speaker shapes up.

(source)