Amazon's Echo Input is an Alexa-enabled speaker you can bring anywhere

Amazon's releasing another Echo (we've lost count of how many new ones there are now) this year. The Echo Input Portable Speaker Edition is a battery-powered Bluetooth speaker that lets you bring Alexa with you anywhere. There's just one catch: the Echo Input is exclusive to India when it launches on December 18 for 5,999 Indian rupees (about $84).

Different Echo Input — Technically, the Echo Input is the spiritual successor to the Amazon Tap, Amazon's first Alexa-enabled portable speaker released in 2016. But don't confuse the India-exclusive Echo Input speaker for Amazon's disc-shaped Echo Input dongle, which adds Alexa voice commands to any speaker.

Longer battery life on the go — Amazon says the Echo Input speaker has a 4,800 mAh battery that lasts for "up to 10 hours of continuous music playback." That's one hour longer than the Amazon Tap. In standby, the Echo Input lasts up to 11 hours.

Basically a portable Echo Dot — Feature-wise, the Echo Input does everything an Echo Dot does. Hands-free Alexa voice commands: check. 360-degree sound: check. Physical controls: also check. It's too bad the Echo Input is only for India — it looks like a pretty decent portable Alexa speaker. Other portable speakers with Alexa exist (i.e. Ultimate Ears' $180 Blast), but they don't cost under $100.