Gigaset_blog_Gigaset_smart_speaker_L800HX_Wohnzimmer

The Gigaset L800HX smart speaker: “Taking traditional telephony into a new era”

14. May 2019 Published by Raphael Doerr

Gigaset has caused a pretty big splash in the press with its most recent product innovation: The Gigaset smart speaker L800HX with Amazon Alexa integration went down well with big fish in the digital sector – from T3N to COMPUTER BILD. But that’s no surprise. After all, the L800HX is the first smart speaker that’s also a landline phone – with outstanding sound quality that makes you think you’re in the same room as the person you’re calling.

teltarif.de notes that the L800HX “blurs the boundary between fixed-line telephony and a clever sound box.” The Gigaset smart speaker can be connected via DECT technology with any base station and compatible router and – together with Alexa’s voice control service – “takes traditional telephony into a new era.” The design is also rated as “stylish.” Yet far more important in the view of teltarif.de are the “inner values”: The sound of the 3-inch speaker, the option of connecting up further audio sources by means of the AUX port, transmission of music by Bluetooth 4.1 and WiFi, and the fact that the L800HX has its own app that allows it to be linked with the home network and DECT base stations quickly and easily.

Rethinking fixed-line telephony

T3N praises the L800HX as the combination of all the familiar “Alexa features with a DECT phone” with which Gigaset aims to “breathe new life” into fixed-line telephony. T3N emphasizes the qualities of the Gigaset smart speaker as a DECT phone: “Once [the smart speaker] is connected with a DECT base station or a suitable router, the device can be used to call any landline or mobile number.” The simple means of controlling the telephone function by app and voice recognition is described in detail and the speakers’ sound gets a positive mention.

COMPUTER BILD also reports positively about the launch of the L800HX and, in particular, regards its ability to function as a landline phone as what makes it so special. Especially in comparison with the Amazon Echo smart speaker, Gigaset’s L800HX is “an alternative that takes a simpler approach: The Alexa speaker directly establishes a connection to the DECT base station or a router with an integrated DECT base station just like a normal cordless phone.” COMPUTER BILD also highlights the technical trappings of the Gigaset smart speaker: “The Gigaset L800HX boasts a 15-watt 76-millimeter loudspeaker and three microphones with active noise cancellation.” The magazine is impressed with Gigaset’s DECT expertise after it already fared well in the COMPUTER BILD DECT telephone test.

Even more features

Inside-handy.de describes the L800HX smart speaker as a “voice-controlled hands-free phone,” summing up that it reminds it “very much of an Amazon Echo in terms of appearance,” but has “more features.” Amazon Alexa integration is also emphasized: “It goes without saying that all of Alexa skills can be used and Gigaset Smart Home applications controlled thanks to the built-in Alexa function.”

“For music fans and frequent callers”

Netzpiloten.de reports that Gigaset’s aim with the L800HX is to unite practical features from the telephony and smart home arenas. Netzpiloten is won over by its looks: Even though the Gigaset smart speaker seems like a conventional device, it was “admittedly a stylish smart speaker.” The technical details were also impressive: The L800HX offers “sound quality for music fans and frequent callers” with its “powerful loudspeaker” – making it very easy to hear what was being said when there is a large group of people around, such as in business meetings and family conferences.