Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably because nobody wants to use mobile apps with bar code scanners. Related: http://picturesofpeoplescanningqrcodes.tumblr.com/
No posts on above tumblr as of now.
(That's the joke.)
Amazon Dash
51–60 of 262 posts
Re: Amazon Dash
#52Why was a separate physical device needed for this? It seems like a simple smartphone application would work just as well, if not better as I would assume virtually all of the target audience for this service already have a smartphone.
Go scan a bunch of barcodes on your phone, in varying light levels and angles. The process is pretty terrible, phone cameras cannot beat dedicated barcode scanners at actually scanning barcodes.
Re: Amazon Dash
#53HN'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…
Respectfully, there's geek-thinking again. Wifi password changing is a straw-man argument - most households use the default SSID and password that came with the router (if you don't believe me go to a residential area outside of SF and see how many 2WireXXX or ATTXXXX SSID's there are). Those that do set their own password never change it again.
Apps enabling multiple scanners - again assumes multiple smartphone ownership in the house in order for everyone to use it vs just having a single dedicated scanner that (as Amazon suggests in their site) hangs on your refrigerator.
I'm not even sure the average consumer is sufficiently trained yet about opening apps. I heard a segment on NPR recently where multiple callers (and the host) referred to a company's mobile-optimized website as an "app", many normal people don't really know what an app really is. I'll dig out the Pew Research study on mobile phones that said something like 20% of smartphone owners don't install any apps on their phones beyond those that came with the device (perhaps because they're fuzzy on the concept).
UPDATE: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-01-30/sm... - 17% of smartphone owners don't use any apps at all according to Pew.
Re: Amazon Dash
#54HN'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…
[deleted]
Re: Amazon Dash
#55Why is Amazon gold plating their fresh service when they didn't manage to meaningfully expand it since 2007?
Re: Amazon Dash
#56Number of steps to scan grocery by phone: 1. Find your phone 2. Unlock 3. Swipe left to home page three or maybe four 4. Visually scan for the AmazonFresh icon and tap 5. Wait for loading 6. Start scanning action 7. Confirm and pay Number of steps to scan grocery by Dash: 1. Get device from drawer or pantry 2. Press one button and scan 3. Confirm and pay For the target demo (30+, married, households with children), o…
It's also why I continue to wear a watch despite carrying a cell phone.
Re: Amazon Dash
#57And when you go to somebody else place, you like something, "ok, I will add it to my Amazon shopping cart", etc... So many use cases this is amazing.
Re: Amazon Dash
#58For some reason this made me thing of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat
The CueCat has a wire.
Possibly a case of doing one thing wrong that ruined the entire product. We'll see.
Re: Amazon Dash
#59Why is Amazon gold plating their fresh service when they didn't manage to meaningfully expand it since 2007?
It was expanded last year from just Seattle to also include San Francisco and LA.
Re: Amazon Dash
#60HN'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…
The loop on the end is for opening beers.