Orange has announced the commercial launch of its own first smart speaker, which is named after the Djingo voice-controlled personal assistant already integrated within the Orange Bank service. French consumers can purchase the device for EUR 149.99 on the operator's website and 80 retail points, regardless of whether they subscribe to an Orange plan. A promotional launch price of EUR 99.99 is advertised for customers on premium Livebox or Open plans (Play/Jet/Up), available until 05 February 2020.
The long-delayed smart speaker was developed in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom, which started marketing it under its Magenta brand in early September, at the discounted launch price of EUR 99. Orange has now aligned itself with its German partner, after initially indicating a starting price of EUR 49 when the device was unveiled in December 2018.
Activated with the voice command 'OK Djingo', the smart speaker is designed to work as a home hub to control a number of services from Orange, as well as partners including Deezer, Franceinfo and Meteo France. As announced last December, the device also integrates support for Amazon Alexa.
Customers with a compatible Livebox can perform several tasks via voice commands, for example making phone calls or interacting with smart objects compatible with Connected Home (Maison Connectee). The Orange TV platform can also be controlled using Djingo, once the service is enabled via the dedicated app for the speaker. At any time, users can mute the microphone to disable the recording function.
Available from 14 November, the device is introduced alongside an automatic update for the latest version of the Orange TV box, which will make the STB compatible with the Djingo personal assistant. This will enable customers to use voice commands by pressing a dedicated button on the remote control, already present in nearly 1.5 million homes subscribing to Orange TV.
