Harman Kardon Invoke official price [update - and release date] leaked, surprisingly costly

The official store listing for the Harman Kardon Invoke has leaked, and with it comes the final price of the smart speaker.

Unfortunately, given the very intense competitive environment, it seems the product will be dead in the water, as Harman Kardon and Microsoft decided to price it at $199.95, firmly at the high end of the market.

That price does include 6 months of free Skype calls to mobile phones and landlines in the US., but given the prevalence of VOIP via apps such as Facetime and Messenger this is unlikely to be a major enticement.

The price compares poorly with the new Echo Plus, which features upgraded speakers and home control and costs only $150 and is not far off from the Amazon Echo Show, which costs $229.99 and offers a 7-inch screen and video calling.

The Cortana-powered speaker will offer:

• Premium Sound: Harman Kardon high-quality sound featuring 3 woofers and 3 tweeters give full range, true 360-degree sound. The 2 passive radiators are tuned to give a solid bass performance from a small enclosure.
• Cortana: Cortana is your truly personal digital assistant designed to help you be more productive. Cortana can set reminders, make lists, manage calendars, provide answers to questions, and much more. Cortana also works across devices, including PC and mobile, so she’s there whenever you need help.
• Skype calling: Make and receive hands-free calls to cell phones, landlines, and any Skype-enabled device.
• Smart Home Control: Control your smart home devices including lights and thermostat and more. Nest, Phillips Hue, Smarthings, Wink and Insteon devices are supported.
• SONIQUE Far-Field Voice Technology: Featuring 7 microphones embedded into the speaker, using Harman’s beam forming, echo cancellation, and noise reduction algorithms to ensure Cortana can hear you, even in challenging environments.

The device, in Graphite and Pearl Silver, is expected in the 3rd week of October ie very soon from now.

Update: Microsoft has updated the listing, which now includes the specific release date, the 22nd October. It also now includes the full tech specs, which are:

In the meantime, the store listing can be seen here.

Read more about the device, including its manual, here.

Via WalkingCat