Ultimate Ears Unveils BLAST and MEGABLAST Speakers Featuring Amazon Alexa
Ultimate Ears has just unveiled its latest waterproof and portable speakers with the BLAST and MEGABLAST.
The optional POWER UP is an inductive charger for the speakers.
The headlining feature of both is support for Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.
Along with being able to access more than 25,000 different skills to do everything from ordering a pizza to turning off your lights, it can also provide handsfree music control for Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Support for Pandora and Deezer will be added in the future.
Users can also listen to any other music by connecting their device via Bluetooth. Far-field voice technology will allow anyone to say Alexa commands from across the room.
Thanks to built-in Wi-Fi, users will also be able to enjoy their music while on a phone call.
Retailing for $299.99, the MEGABLAST is 40 percent louder than the MEGABOOM. It can provide 16 hours of music playback on a single charge.
The smaller BLAST will cost $229.99 and can rock out for up to 12 hours on a single charge.
The speakers are waterproof in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes.
Also newly announced, the $39.99 POWER UP is an inductive charger for either of the new speakers. Instead of needing to charge with a cable, you can just set the speaker down on the dock.
Like other portable speakers from UE, the new options offer 360-degree sound and can be submerged in water of up to 1 meter for 30 minutes.
The BLAST, MEGABLAST, and POWER UP can be preordered now from the Ultimate Ears site and other retailers like Amazon.com. Shipping is expected to begin later this month. Buyers can select from four different colors – graphite, blizzard, merlot, and blue steel.
Anyone who purchases one of the speakers until Jan. 23, 2018 will also receive a free, three-month trial to the Amazon Music Unlimited service. It’s only for new subscribers.