Smatree Power

Smatree - AE9000 Intelligent Battery Base for Amazon Echo arrived quickly and was well packaged (thanks Amazon). The AE9000 is awesome in case you don't want to read the rest of this review. The base fits remarkably well and holds the echo proudly and snugly. The echo can be lifted up by the echo and the base does not slip and fall off as you might expect. The magnetic power adapter is really secure and allows the echo to be separated if you desire from the battery base. But we have found no reason to want to separate the base from the echo. I simply plugged the magnetic adapter into the echo base and set the echo into the battery pack. Then I plugged in the original echo power cord into the battery base and it started to charge the battery base. The battery base has a small power button on the front in case you missed it along with four small blue LED's to indicate the battery base charge status. When you want to disconnect the echo from the AC adapter simply push the power button and the LED's will turn on and then you can remove the AC power cord and the echo will stay powered on allowing you to be mobile within your WiFi network. Keep in mind that the echo needs to be connected to your WiFi network in order to function and stream music and digital content. We have used it to sit outside around the house and it has been awesome to say the least. On the back are a few ports which allow this battery to be completely flexible which set it apart from others on the market. The micro USB is a power input that allows you to use a different charge adapter or even another battery pack to charge the echo battery base - awesome. And the full size USB connection allows you to use the echo battery base to charge another device such as a cell phone or even another battery pack. Then you have the original echo coaxial power jack which allows you to charge and run the echo while charging the battery base at the same time. These connections make this the best battery base that you could ask for. The only wish I have is that the base would automatically detect if the original AC power were disconnected it would automatically turn on and take over the power needs to keep the echo powered on and not lose a beat. If you forget to press the front power button the echo will disconnect from the WiFi network as if you turned off the power. To prevent this remember to press the front power button so the LED's are on before you remove the original AC power connection and the echo will remain on and not drop off the WiFi network. The LED's on the front are small and not glaringly bright like some products which is great. The base is short so the echo is not overly tipsy while loaded in the battery base. If I had another wish it would be that the bottom of the base were slightly wider than the top which would make the echo even more stable while loaded in the battery base. Trust me this is not an issue but rather a personal preference as I am an engineer that likes to make every improvement a desire. Other than these small wishes this product is rock solid and well thought out.Bottom line - this is a small, slim, well designed and well fitted battery base for the Amazon echo that has all of the features and functionality you could ask for in a small package. In my opinion this is well worth the price and is not a want item but rather a need for anyone who owns the echo. I wish I had this battery base from day one, definitely prior to me purchasing the second AC power adapter that I now do not need. The portability is awesome and we have listened to the echo outside for 2 plus hours and it has not moved off of the 3rd LED which means nearly a full day of listening. And trust me we did not spare the volume since the echo has awesome sound and a deep rich sound especially outdoors.YES - I would highly recommend this product and will continue with it daily. Give it a try and see if you experience the same results. Smatree has really brought a great product to market with the AE9000 - Kudos to Smatree - well done - 5 stars.Note: I received this product at a discount for an honest and unbiased review. (I will never compromise my honest opinion for a discount).Update (7/20/16): For those who are having trouble please check to see if the 4 small blue LED's are lit up on the front of the battery base. I found someone pressed the power button on the front of the battery base and these were off so when we unplugged the echo from the wall power it turned the echo off as soon as the power was removed. If you still have issues take the extra time to contact the seller as this battery base is truly worth it. EVERYONE we know who has purchased this base loves it and would not give it up. Ours has been working flawlessly since first powered on - really it is a great innovative product that works.Update: 7/27/2016I received an updated magnetic power adapter and it is working great. I had a small issue with the echo occasionally losing power while on battery power. Smatree has updated the small power adapter and it is working great. If you are having any issue with the battery pack losing power please make contact with Smatree customer support and they will most likely send you an updated magnetic power adapter. This has cured all issues with the lose of power and again this is a perfect accessory for the Amazon Echo to make it truly portable. I can honestly say this is a great product and Smatree customer support is fantastic. Give it a try, you will be happy you did. For those who gave this a poor rating you did not give it an honest try and did not contact Smatree for the updated magnetic power adapter.

I purchased this item to give to a friend. I placed the item in my office and for about a month it worked fine. Last Thursday, August 11, 2016 I carefully packed up the Battery Base, put it back in the original box and carried it over to my friend. She unboxed the item, carefully, and put it together. The blue lights on the base light up, however the echo does not work. I unplugged the echo from base. Put my known working echo in base and same result. I have seen other reviews on this item, like rearranging the echo to sit a certain way in the base. I did not fully trust the reviews, however, I am much wiser now. This base may join together easily, work for a few weeks, but it will DIE. I do not what is wrong but I DO NOT RECOMMEND this product. Please be forewarned, unless the design is corrected, it will stop working. I want my money back. Thank-you.

UPDATE: After my post they contacted me and sent me a new unit. They sent me two of the magnetic connectors that you plug into the Echo. The unit works. I upgraded to 4 stars and if it continues to work I will come back and upgrade it again later. It is better looking and fits better than the competition in my opinion. I hope it continues to work.Piece of JUNK!!! when it works it's great. Trouble is it is very unreliable goes off for no reason, can't turn back on. If you finally get it back on it plays 15 minutes goes down. If you get it back on Alexa has to reboot, forgets where it is on a play list. Very disappointed with this product.

Honestly, flawless. I know others have had trouble getting it mounted correctly on the Echo, and I'll admit I did have to fiddle with it for maybe 10-15 minutes, but I am by NO means the most mechanically savvy person in the world and I was able to get it to work perfectly. I mean the instructions are not hard to follow but maybe some people are not removing the magnet plug, plugging it into the Echo, and then attaching the Echo + magnet plug to the battery base? As soon as I did that it worked with no problem.Anyway, I use this constantly, it basically lives on my echo and I have no problem with that whatsoever. I usually putter around my living room and kitchen for three or four hours between getting home after work and going to my bedroom, and this battery easily lasts that long plus some. I just take it with me when I'm ready for bed, and leave it plugged in overnight, and the battery hasn't died on me yet. I even bring it into the bathroom to play music for me while I'm in the shower (with the whole unit WELL away from anything wet, of course.)Can't really think of much else to say about it. It works, looks good, makes the Echo nice and portable, and hasn't given me any issues so far. Oh and I really like the USB plug included; that way I can charge my phone while playing things to the Echo over Bluetooth. Smart addition!