Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm curious, why did the package size matter?
it wasn't a typo. hue is a phillips is a iot lighting system, and there are several packages that include a hue-enabled lightbulb.
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The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
251–260 of 414 posts
Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
#252Is it just me or do none of these voice products seem like they are ready for the consumer? I have never seen one work properly on a consistent basis.
Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
#253Title should be this:
"An always listening device that record all your private conversations, that may or may not have been compromised (or will be compromised) by the private and government entities for surveillance and profit purposes has been the best selling product in the USA (where people refuse to give-up rights to own guns because they don't trust the government)"
Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
#254Earlier quoted context omitted.
wait, VR is freaking awesome, please don't put it in the same box.
> VR is freaking awesome For what uses? I've been trying VR on multiple occasions, I still don't see much use for it. Even most VR games suck completely.
Not all new technologies hit the ground running. Not that vr is necessarily new at this point. Look at early video games versus now. Look at early office home software versus now.
These things have come a long way in 20-50 years.
Yes, many vr games are still little more than tech prototypes and the hardware still needs improvement. But if you haven't used a decent brand system and can't appreciate how much potential it has. I don't know what to say to that.
You shouldn't take vr just at face value for being awesome but also some of the potential it has in next few years. That is what's freaking awesome to me(and I'm not op)
Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
#255Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Why do you think millions of people bought an Echo Dot or a Google Home? Not from YOUR perspective, but from the perspective of millions of people that seem to see value in this product? I enjoy the discussions here but the reaction of this niche audience is not a good predictor of how the average person will act. Most people don't understand how internet ads work or care that much about the privacy of mundane acti…
> People buy these products because they're useful My dad takes weeks or months to learn how to use any new GUI. He's used automated phone systems for his whole life, though, and a voice-driven interface would be much easier for him. It seems like HNers find it hard to believe that people like my dad exist, for some reason.
What isn't obvious at first look/listen: there is no user-driven exploratory discovery for voice-activated devices. You must memorize the exact command needed for a particular "skill". Some words may be selectable (e.g. Echo vs Alexa). If an elderly person has trouble remembering dozens of voice commands, only a tiny subset of the device's functions can be used.
Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
#256Very revealing discussion. Most of the participants just argue about Amazon vs. Google here, some fear surveillance, some consider the devices useless, a few want to understand if the HN crowd finds it useful. This is something I notice here on HN in product-related discussions more and more: people just say what THEY think about product X (typically a negative opinion or complaint), rather being creative, constructi…
I use HN comments as a predictor of future events, whether it be product trends or Bitcoin prices. Just take whatever is posted here and reverse it.
Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
#257Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "Why do you think millions of people bought an Echo Dot or a Google Home? Not from YOUR perspective, but from the perspective of millions of people that seem to see value in this product?" I have no problem with the product category Echo Dot and Google Home sit in, and can see why they make interesting gifts, my only issue is with the surveillance aspects of these devices. Why do I think people bought them regardle…
Night and day difference. With Google glass, you're bringing a stealthy, concealed video camera into public spaces like restrooms, where the guy using the urinal next to you has no idea if you're recording him or not. With smart home devices, you put a microphone on private property that you already own, and it needs to be connected to an AC outlet. It's not a public space. Meanwhile, most seem to have no problem car…
> Meanwhile, most seem to have no problem carrying smartphones on them 24/7, which have the same capability of recording microphone input, but in public spaces disconnected from an AC outlet.
I never understood using this as an argument in favor of always listening devices. Just because someone is invading your privacy in one way, doesn't mean you should just open the floodgates and let everyone invade your privacy. It is possible to be outraged at both, while being required to use one or the other.
Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
#258Very revealing discussion. Most of the participants just argue about Amazon vs. Google here, some fear surveillance, some consider the devices useless, a few want to understand if the HN crowd finds it useful. This is something I notice here on HN in product-related discussions more and more: people just say what THEY think about product X (typically a negative opinion or complaint), rather being creative, constructi…
I can tell you why I chose the Echo.
I'm probably significantly older than the mean at HN, and I'm starting to forget stuff. My wife and I find the shopping list and reminders very handy compared to using the phone.
I also have underutilized smart home devices (wemo, harmony hub, etc) and Echo just got introduced in Canada at a lower price. I read that Echo has slightly better smart home compatibility than Home, so I decided to go with Echo. My friends with the Home seem equally happy with their devices as I am. I use Echo to turn on groups of lights by voice. It's great.
My main gripe with the Echo is that the skills are region locked. There are tons of skills that are only English (US) and not available for English (Canada) yet. I'm lucky that the two skills I'm waiting for aren't that important to me.
I get that there are privacy concerns, but I ended up opting convenience and functional benefit over them. I kinda see my Echo as "big brother[1] with benefits".
[1] big sister might be more accurate, given that we only have the option of a female voice with Echo
Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
#259Very revealing discussion. Most of the participants just argue about Amazon vs. Google here, some fear surveillance, some consider the devices useless, a few want to understand if the HN crowd finds it useful. This is something I notice here on HN in product-related discussions more and more: people just say what THEY think about product X (typically a negative opinion or complaint), rather being creative, constructi…
I use HN comments as a predictor of future events, whether it be product trends or Bitcoin prices. Just take whatever is posted here and reverse it.
>Just take whatever is posted here and reverse it.
Considering the myriad of viewpoints shown on HN, I don't think that is a reasonable take. I first learned about Bitcoin on HN in 2010, long before it became well-known. Also, when Apple announced the Homepod, the financial press was constantly comparing it to Amazon Echo, but HN knew it made more sense to compare it to Sonos. Not every comment on HN is spot-on, to be sure, but the signal-to-noise here is better than 99.9% of the web.
Re: The Echo Dot was the best-selling product on Amazon this holiday season
#260Earlier quoted context omitted.
Might I suggest some simple reasons for the increase in sales for the Dot? * Novelty value, it's a fun idea. It looks cool to buy an "edgy" product for your nephew / niece etc. * The marketing team worked hard to direct prime customers to buy one for their family / friends as gifts. * People are out of ideas and it's something new, novel and affordable. I really don't think people put much thought into presents in ge…
Easy to get in and already usefull. My wife didn't like the idea of having a microphone in our rooms, now she asked me if i don't want to buy another one. And yeah it is only used for timer, reminder, light on/off and music. I love it too.
My wife rolled her eyes when I told her I pre-ordered an Echo Dot.
When she actually saw it in action and found out I had only paid $50CAD for one, she told me to get another one.
I've only had Echo since Dec 5, but we're both becoming dependent on its convenience.