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| Smart Speakers |
Smart Speakers is the new FAD today. Alexa was available in India from last year. With Google Mini Home launched in India a couple of days back, the fight has become intense. But the important question is what is actually customer getting out of this device or is it a gimmick or a new toy on the block!
What is a smart speaker?
A smart speaker is essentially a speaker device with a voice assistant. It needs a power and good Wi-Fi connection for operation since all the queries to it is sent to the server to fetch the relevant information. The services of the smart speaker can be extended for home automation.
Why I should buy it?
Personally, I don’t see any reason for buying it for an individual as on today as we have apps and phones which are easily accessible and more comfortable to use. The voice assistant on these speakers is also available on the mobile phones. However, on a positive note, it is like a standalone encyclopaedia which can be used by any family member which is difficult on a personal phone. However, they should converse with a smart speaker in English only.
Also, One of the limiting factors is the audio level for giving commands. You may notice that people raise their voice pitch and tone to give commands to the device which looks quite abnormal and is not a great consumer experience for a regular usage. Also, the device may catch inputs from the running TV or radio service.
Having said that, The use case is not limited to being an encyclopaedia. They can play music for you as well! The primary use of speakers :)
As per the study, 2/3rd of the people who are using these smart speakers are using it for listening to music
These smart speakers are trying to be smarter by tying up with a lot of service providers like a cab, food, online shopping and Home automation devices (light controls etc)
I see a very good use case for kids as it will help to answer kid’s curiosity in its current form.
In near future, Home automation may be a driving use case in India subjected to price drops for ecosystem devices including the smart speakers!
How can I buy it?
Two of the famous smart speakers are available through rival online channels Amazon and Flipkart. No prizes for guessing which is available where.
There are multiple version of these smart speakers available starting from INR 4449/-and above
Here is a link for quick reference
India is a big and incredible market with multiple languages. Though both smart speakers support Indian accent for English. It would be interesting to see if these global giants come up with understanding language in their NLP algorithms.
Cost reduction will also be a great motivation for buying these speakers for experimenting and spreading word of mouth. However, the current prices are too high for tier-2 and tier-3 customers to even think about it.
The real experience will come for these smart speakers when they are bundled with some service that is used regularly by the consumer else they will be the next 3D glasses!
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