Hendrick’s Horatio: the most unusual design smart speaker

Today, the market for smart speakers, displays and other smart gadgets is quite densely populated. AT

more manufacturers appear in the segment,competition is growing, and you have to come up with something extraordinary to stand out from the rest. The functionality of most smart speakers is similar, everything revolves around a virtual voice assistant and sound quality. In principle, that’s all, the main differences are only in the specific assistant, but most importantly in the design.

Unusual design as a competitive advantage

What the majority offers us nowmanufacturers? Neat hi-tech boxes, some more futuristic, others laconic and somewhere strict, are simple, like Yandex. But you can definitely guarantee that no manufacturer has a smart speaker equipped with a stand for a glass of wine. It is unlikely that any of the market leaders would take such a risk.

But Hendrick’s is not afraid to take risks,since it is an old and seasoned producer of brutal gin. Something went wrong or vice versa, there was a desire to join the high digital technologies, but it was this company that created the unique look of the Horatio smart column. On the market, no one can even match the courage of the designers of Hendrick’s or those to whom they ordered the production of the device.

Materials unique to the segment

Horatio is unique not only in design, but alsomaterials used to create it. This is a real steampact - a brass body, copper inserts, decorated with leather, in general, everything is like in science fiction and fantasy films. Moreover, these columns are not stamped, so each of them is unique, two artists from the USA work on them. The device turned out to be non-standard and somewhat even strange, it is obviously not suitable for everyone, but how wonderful it is.

As for the technical component, thenthe company is in no hurry to share the details, but it is known that the virtual assistant from this magic lamp of Aladdin answers with a very pleasant British accent. However, this is not the last feature of the smart speaker, the fact is that the manufacturer somehow mysteriously described the communication with the device, noting that the assistant is not simple there, and will not always listen to you and answer strictly according to the rules. This device will be much more complicated than ordinary smart speakers, and it lives its own life. Rather, this is not a virtual assistant, but an interlocutor partner (drinking companion?) At a pleasant evening table with a glass of gin. In general, the company does not guarantee that Horatio will obediently deliver the requested pieces of music.

The price of Horatio is $ 1,113, for thisonly five such columns have been created. You can place an order on the Hendrick’s website, however, the website often lays down after the announcement of this unusual column. Apparently, the server simply can not stand the huge influx of people who want to look at this curiosity. Of course, Horatio will not become a mass product, it is only a marketing move of the gin manufacturer, but the column turned out to be excellent, and the company’s move was clearly a success. On this wave, quite predictably, the company announced further experiments and new unusual gadgets.