When food became mp3's — Amazon Dash / Fresh = Apple iPod / iTunes. Well done, Jeff.
Amazon Dash
191–200 of 262 posts
Re: Amazon Dash
#192HN'ers asking why this isn't a cell phone app take note - this exemplifies why we (geeks) don't make good use cases for consumer tech and we should always be careful looking to our own habits and values when in a Product Development role. We're rarely the target customer and rarely behave like "average Joe". We're naturally resistant to superfluous redundancy ("My phone can already snap a barcode, I don't need a sepa…
I think you're missing the main reason why they made the separate device, to generate more sales.
If you receive a free device in the mail that can scan your groceries, you'll use it. If you receive a link to a free app then there is a much slimmer chance that you'll use the service and purchase the products.
Re: Amazon Dash
#193HN'ers asking why this isn't a cell phone app take note - this exemplifies why we (geeks) don't make good use cases for consumer tech and we should always be careful looking to our own habits and values when in a Product Development role. We're rarely the target customer and rarely behave like "average Joe". We're naturally resistant to superfluous redundancy ("My phone can already snap a barcode, I don't need a sepa…
True, but shouldn't it ALSO be an app? Maybe in the works, I dunno.
There is already a dedicated Amazon Fresh app, I'd imagine they'll integrate the functionality.
Re: Amazon Dash
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
This totally reminded me of CueCat. Despite CueCat being free, it was commonly sold on ebay because it made the cheapest barcode scanner on market. Amazon dash will end up being similarly awesome for hobbiest to hack on.
it's free (with a $299/yr amazon fresh account). that's very much not the same thing as free.
For what it's worth, I'm currently midway through the 30 day free trial of Fresh, and I got an email offering me one for free.
Re: Amazon Dash
#195HN'ers asking why this isn't a cell phone app take note - this exemplifies why we (geeks) don't make good use cases for consumer tech and we should always be careful looking to our own habits and values when in a Product Development role. We're rarely the target customer and rarely behave like "average Joe". We're naturally resistant to superfluous redundancy ("My phone can already snap a barcode, I don't need a sepa…
Opening an app is, thankfully, something the tech industry has managed to train the average consumer to do. I'd argue though remembering where you put this thing, or "oh hey the wifi password got changed why isn't the food scanner working?" adds lots more complexity than hitting an app icon. The app route also enables you to have multiple scanners - since the target audience of such a product is probably already heav…
I think the grandparent's post is blowing the issue out of proportion. Amazon Dash isn't a phone app because phone apps are really slow and difficult for this use (if you've ever tried to use a barcode scanner based on your phone's built-in camera, you know what I'm talking about), not because people can't understand that their phone can do more than one thing. It is true that non-technical people are probably less annoyed by redundancy, but we shouldn't presuppose that this product is actually redundant just because phones can eventually do all the same tricks. The thing is that phones can't do those tricks as well, so the separation is justified.
Re: Amazon Dash
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. Other advantages: A dedicated device means everyone in the household can use it without the friction of having to help everyone find the app and register with the same account. People without phones (like kids) can use it. It's designed to sit on the kitchen counter or hooked on to something. That physical presence reminds you to use it when you're in the kitchen, where an app buried on the last page of the h…
And here's a few more. Dash device is an exemplar of a service in the same way that a Kindle device is. Amazon retains the option to later go the other way too, but while the constraint is still on the supply side (limited markets) this device serves to fix the service as a thing and generate publicity. Also, the platform is controlled by Amazon. Free from interference by Apple, Google, OEM or carrier. Wifi and inter…
For what it's worth I doubt this video shows the whole story. Almost undoubtedly Amazon will batch your list up and email you a confirmation before it actually charges for and ships out the order, at which point you will be able to rectify errors in speech recognition or barcode misreadings.
Since Amazon seems to be specifically targeting parents with this ad, we might as well also mention that children will certainly find the Dash amusing with its beeping and red lights, and if Amazon automatically ordered everything your kid scanned for personal amusement, they'd have a lot of angry customers.
EDIT: On second watch, the ad does say "you can check out on Amazon Fresh or a smart phone", so they've explicitly indicated that there will be a confirmation process before the order is placed. This is just meant to make it quick to collect your list instead of having to type in "chocolate chips" and scroll through hundreds to find the brand you like and then repeat for every item in pantry.
Re: Amazon Dash
#197Listening to a young child carefully pronounce words for the narration was a bit distracting and slightly irritating. A sentence or so would be fine, but narrating the whole video was an exercise in patience. Or do I just have a cold, black heart?
The ad panders practically exclusively to parents (almost every shot is a parent with child), and they're probably more specifically targeting female parents (the ones who more often do the grocery shopping).
I thought it was a cute concept but also found the narration a bit grating, and I'm the parent of multiple small children. My wife would probably think it's adorable though.
Re: Amazon Dash
#198Earlier quoted context omitted.
To some extent, though. When I'm home, my mother gets extremely frustrated (still!) that there isn't one remote that does everything.
Yeah, but she doesn't want all the buttons from all the remotes moved to a single monstermote, she wants the TV remote to do everything as if the only thing connected was a TV. "Why do I have to choose channels on my TV AND cable/satellite box?" and "why are there multiple sound levels for the HiFi, TV, cable and DVD boxes?" are questions no one has adequately answered and they're questions everyone except geeks and…
>Yeah, but she doesn't want all the buttons from all the remotes moved to a single monstermote, she wants the TV remote to do everything as if the only thing connected was a TV. "Why do I have to choose channels on my TV AND cable/satellite box?" and "why are there multiple sound levels for the HiFi, TV, cable and DVD boxes?" are questions no one has adequately answered and they're questions everyone except geeks and techno-fetishists are asking.
When I was 4 we had a cable box and a TV. I could obviously see that the cable box had its own volume and its video output was its own thing that only went to one channel on the TV itself, because it was what turned the cable wire coming in into a signal, which it put on its output cable wire directed to only one channel, channel 3 or 4, and that that applied to its volume as well. Nobody explained it to me, I could just tell by looking at it. I wasn't a "geek" or a "techno-fetishist." I don't think anyone of any age who thinks about it for more than one second finds this a difficult question, hopefully.
Re: Amazon Dash
#199My first thought: people are going to bring this to retail shops to get the benefits of brick-and-mortars shopping while benefiting from the low prices / delivery of Amazon. A lot of people already kind of do this. They go to a shop, find the items they like and look up on the web if they can get a cheaper price by ordering online. This version of the product might not be so practical for this use case though since i…
Exactly. Which Amazon smiles at currently and encourages through their barcode scanning app (this will require internet access for Dash, though - unless it comes with some variation of whispersync).
Re: Amazon Dash
#200Wait till a 2 year old gets ahold of it and scans everything 10 times.
I doubt Amazon would be stupid enough to leave this possibility unaccounted for. Even the most basic purchase on Amazon requires you to put in a password to confirm your purchase. Why would this be any different? Or are you simply being a model HN contributor and nitpicking any little thing that comes to mind?
No, the Kindle Fire on release didn't lock out random purchases - in fact no password required for any app purchase. So there is precedent from Amazon, though they've probably learned.
Where do you see a keypad for this device? How will you enter a password?