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Take your Echo Dot anywhere with this attachment

The Echo Dot isn't a portable speaker by design, but this battery accessory lets you take it anywhere.

Taylor Martin CNET Contributor
Taylor Martin has covered technology online for over six years. He has reviewed smartphones for Pocketnow and Android Authority and loves building stuff on his YouTube channel, MOD. He has a dangerous obsession with coffee and is afraid of free time.
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Taylor Martin
2 min read
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At just $50 or £50 (roughly AU$65), the Echo Dot is the most affordable Alexa device in Amazon 's lineup. Despite its small, pocketable size, the Dot still isn't technically a portable speaker. That title goes to the larger Amazon Tap , which comes with an integrated battery and a bigger, more robust speaker. It also comes with a larger price tag of $130. (It's not on sale in the UK or Australia, but that's roughly £100 or AU$170.)

There is, however, a way to get the best of both worlds: a portable Alexa speaker for less than the price of the Amazon Tap. You just need an attachment for your Echo Dot.

With the first-generation Echo Dot, a clever Reddit user paired the Echo Dot with a JBL Bluetooth speaker that doubled as a portable charger. While it worked, the Dot was only secured to the speaker with a couple rubber bands.

Fremo/YouTube

For the second-generation Echo Dot, there is a far more polished aftermarket option called the Fremo Evo. It comes in either white or black and attaches to the bottom of the Echo Dot using magnets (you have to first adhere a provided magnetic plate to the bottom of the Dot). Attach the charging connector, which plugs into the Micro-USB port on the Echo Dot and the power output on the Evo. Once connected, the Echo Dot will power on.

The Fremo Evo will give the Echo Dot approximately 6 hours of battery life. Since there is no power switch, however, there is at least one caveat. If the Evo is connected to the Dot at all, it will be powered on and burning precious battery life. To turn off the Dot, simply remove the charging connector (and try not to lose it). And when you want to detach the Echo Dot from the Evo, with the charging connector removed, just pull the two devices apart.

When the Fremo Evo needs to be charged, plug in the Echo Dot's provided power adapter into the Micro-USB port on the Evo.

With a price tag of just $35, the Fremo Evo is a neat and affordable way to take your Dot with you practically anywhere. (It's not currently on sale in the UK or Australia, but that converts to about £30 or AU$45.) Just know that, like the Tap, you will still need to connect the Echo Dot to Wi-Fi or a mobile hotspot to be able to harness the power of Alexa.