Triby Is The First Third Party Device With Amazon Alexa

Portable speakers haven’t really evolved much in the past years, thanks to the likes of Triby and Amazon Echo, Tap and Dot for giving us better smart options. I Know that after you read the first sentence, you must be wondering why I added Triby to Amazon’s Alexa enabled devices. Well, that’s because Amazon is spreading the Alexa love to a bunch of devices not made by Amazon and Triby is the first portable speaker to get Amazon’s voice service. This was made possible after Amazon set up a $100 million fund last year to help developers integrate its Alexa Voice Service in third-party devices as it expands outside of products such as the Amazon Echo to increase its lead within IoT devices. 

The Invoxia Triby speaker is not just your average portable speaker, it’s similar to Amazon Echo in many ways, but also includes features focused on being the communication hub for your family with digital messaging capabilities, through its screen, and the ability to make internet calls to family members. Even though the Triby connected speaker was designed to be used in the kitchen because of its built-in magnet that can be used to mount Echo on a refrigerator, the speaker looks so good I’m sure it will certainly find its way in other parts of the home. Unlike its Amazon counterpart, the smart connected speaker comes with a bright colored protective interchangeable bumper for those who’ll like to spice things up. Triby combines music, messaging and communication functionality in one family friendly device. It is a digital assistant, Internet radio, connected speaker, hands-free speakerphone, and connected message board all rolled into one cute device. Starting today, the Triby app will be available to Android users, same as its Amazon Alexa features.

The speaker also connects via WiFi or Bluetooth. It comes with Spotify Connect (the service that allows speaker makers to stream Spotify tracks directly from the internet) and a bunch of internet radio channels you can listen to without even the Alexa integration. You can pair your Triby speaker with any smartphone or device and play music from you personal music library. There are a bunch of other cool features that come with the connected speaker, the e-ink display stands out of the list. The e-ink display on the Triby connected speaker shows you the time, date and temperature, and also serves as a whiteboard for doodles or notes you make in the app and send to the speaker. When sent to the speaker, Triby notifies the users by popping out a yellow plastic flag from the right side of the speaker, users can also respond to these messages from the app or the speaker by pressing the custom emoji button right underneath the flag. There are a bunch of physical buttons all around the speaker, the music and volume control buttons on the top, a physical Alexa button, and a bunch of preset buttons to save your VOIP contacts and radio stations.

I’ve had the opportunity to test out the Alexa feature on the Triby connected speaker and it works flawlessly except for features that aren’t supported yet. After spending days with the Triby connected speaker, I kept wondering why I never bought the Amazon Echo in the first place. It controlled all my connected smart devices and added another fun way of communication with my family. To be honest with you, the speaker sounds okay, for a small portable speaker, the Triby really sounds good, thanks to the In Vivo Acoustic tech that delivers a powerful sound with solid bass and clear treble. Since I reviewed the device I’ve had one stuck to my metal desk lamp, and it has been my daily music driver when working from home. There are a few things I certainly like improved in the next version like a screen that lights up in the dark and a more responsive display. You can buy Triby from Amazon or the company’s website for $199 USD (Note: at the moment this post was published, the price for the Triby speaker on Amazon is $169).

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A video posted by Ifeanyi Anyaehie (@mjcity) on Apr 28, 2016 at 8:34pm PDT

There are a few things I’ll certainly like to be improved in the next version like a screen that lights up in the dark and a more responsive display. You can buy Triby from Amazon or the company’s website for $199 USD (Note: at the moment this post was published, the price for the Triby speaker on Amazon is $169).