Amazon Dash Buttons bring consumerism to Internet of Things
Amazon on Tuesday announced a new single-purpose Internet-connected device that lets customers quickly reorder commonly depleted goods like coffee pods and razor blades at the push of a button.
Taking online shopping into the real world is a bold idea, so bold that many mistook Amazon Dash Buttons for an early April Fool's joke. Amazon has since confirmed that Buttons are real and will begin rolling out to select Prime members soon.
The device itself is about the size of a pack of gum and features a single large button for sending orders out to Amazon's online store via Wi-Fi. Customers use their smartphone to hook up Dash Button to a local Wi-Fi network and select which product each device is in charge of ordering. After setup, pressing the button automatically places an order for delivery.
Buttons can be mounted using included reusable adhesive tape and hooks for easy access. In one example shown off in Amazon's teaser video, a button mounted on a washing machine is used to resupply Tide Pods detergent.
Once an order is placed, confirmations are sent to a customer's smartphone, where they can cancel if needed. Importantly, Dash Button only responds to an initial press that resets once a product is delivered, safeguarding against accidental mass orders.
A number of major brands have already signed on to the fledgling service, including Clorox, Cottonelle, Gillette, Glad, Huggies, Tide and more.
Still in limited release, Amazon Dash Button is currently available to Amazon Prime by invitation only. Amazon is said to be shipping out the free buttons in batches, meaning each user will be provided more than one device to facilitate ordering of multiple products.
Dash Button is only one cog in Amazon's Internet of Things plans, however. An interesting side project called Dash Replenishment Service (DRS) allows device manufacturers to integrate automated ordering buttons into their machines. Even more intriguing is the suggestion that devices can employ sensors to monitor supply levels and automatically place an order when stock runs low. Whirlpool and Brita are already working on DRS products.
Taking online shopping into the real world is a bold idea, so bold that many mistook Amazon Dash Buttons for an early April Fool's joke. Amazon has since confirmed that Buttons are real and will begin rolling out to select Prime members soon.
The device itself is about the size of a pack of gum and features a single large button for sending orders out to Amazon's online store via Wi-Fi. Customers use their smartphone to hook up Dash Button to a local Wi-Fi network and select which product each device is in charge of ordering. After setup, pressing the button automatically places an order for delivery.
Buttons can be mounted using included reusable adhesive tape and hooks for easy access. In one example shown off in Amazon's teaser video, a button mounted on a washing machine is used to resupply Tide Pods detergent.
Once an order is placed, confirmations are sent to a customer's smartphone, where they can cancel if needed. Importantly, Dash Button only responds to an initial press that resets once a product is delivered, safeguarding against accidental mass orders.
A number of major brands have already signed on to the fledgling service, including Clorox, Cottonelle, Gillette, Glad, Huggies, Tide and more.
Still in limited release, Amazon Dash Button is currently available to Amazon Prime by invitation only. Amazon is said to be shipping out the free buttons in batches, meaning each user will be provided more than one device to facilitate ordering of multiple products.
Dash Button is only one cog in Amazon's Internet of Things plans, however. An interesting side project called Dash Replenishment Service (DRS) allows device manufacturers to integrate automated ordering buttons into their machines. Even more intriguing is the suggestion that devices can employ sensors to monitor supply levels and automatically place an order when stock runs low. Whirlpool and Brita are already working on DRS products.
Comments
I, too, was all but certain this was an early April Fool's joke.
So if you use Tide, Bounty, Clorox, Woolite, Shout, etc, you'll have these buttons all around your house. That is stupid. Since you have to set it up in your phone to start with, why not just use Siri? "Siri launch Amazon." Then say "Order Tide" in the Amazon app.
Who's up for breaking the high score?
The cell phone has been a shitty thing for Amazon.
Essentially the cell phone is what caused the DOA of Echo. Probably the same goes here...
If only Amazon had tried to create mobile phone of their own branding
/s
I cringe everytime I hear or read "Internet of Things".
Goes right there with the letter codes for screen resolutions in my "don't let the engineers name things" file.
I cringe everytime I hear or read "Internet of Things".
Goes right there with the letter codes for screen resolutions in my "don't let the engineers name things" file.
Once it gets going it is impossible to recall. Just think about the "World Wide Web", not "worldwide" mind you, it's "World Wide."
I wrote script that takes the www off of our website URLs. Jeez, they did some goofy things in the beginning. http://hyper-text-transfer-protocol.com. And when you think about it, the com should be first not after the domain. It should be com.apple/iphone. It is just like the USA date format should be dd:mm:yyyy not mm:dd:yyyy, smaller to larger or larger to smaller, either way, but not all mixed up. /rant
Interesting idea, but wow!, do we ever live in a wasteful, ever-increasly-lazy society.
My first thought, too, Coolf. Just what the planet needs, more disposable plastic.
I do like the idea of it being part of the washing machine though.
Meh. Rampant consumerism now has an easy button. It'd be better if the dash button appeared on your Apple Watch and all you needed to do was a force touch to reorder more.
That is a better idea. If the laundry room had an iBeacon it could pop up all the laundry consumables on the screen and you could scroll through them.
In that case just use Amazon Echo, which is designed better in both HW and SW to support those sort of shopping reminders.
You guys didn't read the article.
You guys didn't read the article.
You don't have kids, I take it, and probably haven't spent much time around them.
Teenagers especially.
Lets say you use many of these products... is it really desirable to have buttons for each product scattered all over your house?
I'd love to meet the person who says "[I]my Amazon Wish List is too complicated[/I]..."
This sounds like a bad infomercial "solution"
[VIDEO]
IOT Hell, from Amazon.
Instead of a doorbell, I'm going to have a button that orders a crowbar.
A person who is so lazy that they need a one button ordering system for certain supplies is most likely also too lazy to care about or even keep track of when their supplies are going to run out, which defeats the purpose of this button.
I also have a problem with the shipping partners that Amazon uses. A recent order from Amazon that I made was being delivered to me by some company called Lasership. What's wrong with USPS or UPS or Fed Ex? Too expensive?
Lasership lied two days in a row, when they said they had attempted delivery. They made no such attempts, and they simply lied and put bogus info into the online tracking that I was following like a hawk. I finally got my package on the third day, when the delivery person did actually show up and not lie about it.
Amazon needs to get better delivery partners and not professional liars who post fraudulent tracking updates.