It looks like Amazon accidentally spilled the beans on its next Echo speaker
AP
According to Recode, the Amazon Echo Twitter account announced the existence of an "all-new" Echo Dot, which would be available for $49.99, on Tuesday morning. The tweet was deleted soon after it was posted, but a handful of users caught the apparent blunder.
Amazon first unveiled the puck-sized Dot in March, and made it available for a brief period over the summer. It cost $90 then, but quickly sold out. A CNET report in July claimed Amazon would sell the device again for the holiday season, so any news of its return wouldn't be much of a surprise. It looks like someone just got a little overeager with the tweet button here.
Apparently not? @amazonecho: Introducing the all-new Echo Dot. Add Alexa to any room - now for just $49.99. https://t.co/AQkwY5xbHh/s/Z-sj
New @amazonecho dot is coming! $49.99! https://t.co/GQESl2lhza pic.twitter.com/EP8ecaf51E
- Jeff Park (@jpark40) September 12, 2016
For the unfamiliar, the original Echo Dot was more or less a miniature version of Amazon's popular Bluetooth speaker. It sounded weaker as a result, but it let you talk to the company's Alexa virtual assistant in all the same ways. It also had the benefit of being able to hook up to other speakers, making those Alexa-compatible in the process. That kind of flexibility appears to have made it very popular at $90; taking off another $40 would only seem to help.
It could also be a boon to Amazon's ongoing efforts to make Alexa available anywhere and everywhere. Aside from expanding its Echo lineup, the company announced last week that the Alexa assistant would come to its Fire tablets, and has allowed a growing number of third-party manufacturers to incorporate the popular software in their smart devices as well.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through hispersonal investment company Bezos Expeditions.
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