While Google has launched its version of the device and Apple is rumored to be working on its own, the newest challenger to the highly succesful Amazon Echo smart speakers comes from China, and its name is LingLong DingDong.
It may have a funny-sounding name, but the Chinese smart speaker looks like it has what it takes to prove itself as a worthy rival to the Amazon Echo.
What Is The LingLong DingDong?
The LingLong DingDong is a smart speaker that has a height of 9.5 inches and weight of 3 pounds. It has an interesting design of a circular top but a square base, representing the idea that heaven has a round shape while the earth has a square shape. This idea is important in the design language that LingLong utilizes for all its products.
Users can speak three voice commands to be able to wake up the smart speaker. The commands to wake are DingDong DingDong; Xiaowei Xiaowei, which is a nickname for a girl; and BaiLing BaiLing, which means skylark.
For color options, the LingLong DingDong comes in red, white, black and purple.
Similarities Between LingLong DingDong And Amazon Echo
When the Amazon Echo was launched back in 2014, the LingLong DingDong was already being developed. The company admitted that it used Amazon's smart speaker as an inspiration, especially in terms of marketing methods.
"Their launch influenced us a lot," said LingLong senior marketing manager Charlie Liu.
Similar to the Amazon Echo, the LingLong DingDong is capable of tracking schedules, playing music and providing information to users such as stocks and weather.
Differences Between LingLong DingDong And Amazon Echo
The only languages supported by the LingLong DingDong are Cantonese and Mandarin, both of which are not supported by the Amazon Echo. Due to how complex the two languages are, each unit of the smart speaker will only come with one of these two languages.
In addition, due to the varieties in accents and dialects for the two languages, LingLong noted that achieving a 100 percent success rate for the DingDong in understanding voice commands would be a challenge. However, the company believes that a 95 percent success rate is achievable.
The Amazon Echo also currently offers over 4,000 third-party services, a number that is far greater than the roughly 10 third-party services currently supported by the LingLong DingDong.
The Price And Value Of The LingLong DingDong
The LingLong DingDong is being sold at an equivalent of only $118, making it cheaper than the Amazon Echo which can be currently purchased for only $139.99 as part of Amazon's Black Friday 2016 sale. However, the true value of the product is that it might be able to bring smart speakers into the mainstream in China, which would possibly lead to the introduction of the Amazon Echo into the country's lucrative smart home market.
