Many people select music that’s based on their mood at any given time. MoodBox is a device designed to take full advantage of that.
It’s a 360-degree omnidirectional speaker with LEDs that responds to mood-matching music requests via voice command. MoodBox uses artificial intelligence and predictive modeling to help it learn different genres and moods of music and ambient lighting that the user likes. Music can be streamed from services including iTunes and Spotify via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
MoodBox works in conjunction with an Android and iOS app, and ships in August. Its makers are fielding two versions: a “Classic” SKU at $299 that features a copper-toned base made of acrylic and a “Premium” model at $399 that features frosted glass with a sand-blasted coating inside and a sprinkle of gold-colored specks that sits on a copper-plated, gold-colored base. But early bird Indiegogo backers can get them for pledges starting at $149 and $179, respectively. The MoodBox makers hope to raise $40,000 by April 4.
MoodBox is a potential rival to the Amazon Echo, another omnidirectional speaker, but with Emi serving as MoodBox’s artificial intelligence instead of the Alexa voice service on Echo. The mood lighting is a nice feature that Echo offers only by connecting it to external devices including Philips Hue. However, a potential negative for some consumers is that it understands only English and Mandarin Chinese at this point.