Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker made the competition "go wireless"

When the headlines read " Launched first in India, to be carried around our homes, built in rechargeable 4800mAh battery providing 10 hrs of continuous music play back time, answers questions, read the news, check the weather, and more...." 

Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker is one more addition to the "Amazon Echo" ecosystem & makes the competition"go wireless".

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@amazondotin introduces Echo Input Portable Smart Speaker , 4,800mAh battery delivers 10 hours of playback. Now, interact with Alexa in English or Hindi ₹4,999 . . . #alexa #echoinput #amazon #alexaamazon #amazonecho #speakeramazon #input #echo2019 #amazonechoshow #amazonechoinput

A post shared by Aravind Balakrishnan (@aravindbk) on Dec 31, 2019 at 4:36am PST

Design:

It is compact, exterior 'black fabric design' appreciated on most Echo speakers. On the top, a mute option (I find it useful, in the used case of the microphones & invoking Alexa & an LED to indicate whether the device is listening. Along the side of the cylinder is housed a set of four LED's that serve the purpose as a battery level indicator and a power switch, that's Echo Input Portable exclusive! USP is that it weighs just 448 grams and built in rechargable 4800mAh battery providing 10 hrs of continuous music play back time. What I miss the most is aux port, available on most of the Echo speakers. Unfortunately, it's not water proof, unlike the offerings from it's affordable competition.

Audio Quality: 

Portable is impressive in terms of delivering high audio quality (Also noticeably louder than 3rd generation Echo Dot) additionally making the voice assistance, sound better. Access Alexa from anywhere in the room using the same "far-field voice recognition" as other Echo devices. 

Control smart home: 

Control compatible smart home devices such as lights, plugs, and fans from Philips, Wipro, Syska, TP-Link and more by just asking Alexa. Just say “Alexa, turn on the geyser” or “Alexa, turn off the lights”. 

Battery: 

Amazon claims that it's built in rechargeable 4800mAh battery provides 10 hours of continuous music play back time. Fair enough was my usage, I had about 8 hours at decent volume and 3~4 hours of constant music playback and audio books listening. Adding to the 'Smart Home Capabilities as to answer questions (do it a lot from "Khan Academy") read the news, check the weather, stream music with Amazon Prime Music, Apple Music, JioSaavn, Gaana and listen to audio books et,al. 'Echo Input Portable' charges over a standard microUSB port, which allows you to use a powerbank too. Although every house would have witnessed multiple smart speakers, I love the idea of carrying it around. 

Alexa has skills:

With tens of thousands of skills and counting, Alexa is always getting smarter and adding new features and skills like booking a cab, ordering food, playing games, and more.

Summary: 

To speak to Alexa in Hindi, just ask, “Alexa, speak in English and Hindi.” I had a lot better experience than the Echo Dot & what makes it even better is that it doesn't have to be constantly plugged into a wall, for just ₹4,999 (wait till the item is back in stock) from amazon.