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Disassembling the Amazon Dash

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Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#91

Post by joezydeco »

meesterdude wrote: post #83
joezydeco wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or one could just (pre)order the $19 Spark Photon and get a working module with code, schematics, and support. Depends how you value your time.

i hate preorders! everything cool is preorder! Why can't the future be here today? is the spark photon really equiv to the dash? or does it still need other components in addition?

FTA: "At the heart of the Dash is a USI (Avnet) 850101. The 850101 is a combination wireless module (Broadcom BCM43362) and micro controller (ST Microelectronics STM32F205). This makes the Dash capable of connecting to 802.11 b/g/n networks with its 120MHz ARM Cortex-M3 processor. It also happens to be exactly the same chip used inside the $19 Spark Photon."

Avnet USI is just repackaging the chipset on behalf of ST and Broadcom. Honestly, there are other things you can order today if you don't want to wait for this one. You could try adafruit, sparkfun, or even digikey.

I personally recommend the modules from LS Research.

Module: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/450-0064/450-0064-N...

Eval/Breakout board + Module: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/450-0120/450-0120-N...

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#92

Post by joezydeco »

nemik wrote: post #76
joezydeco wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree about the SmartConfig. Interesting idea, very convoluted method. Thankfully most devices I've been working on have a touchscreen to provision the SSID/PW, or we just ask the user to put it in a text file and inject it via a thumb drive. It really doesn't have to be this hard.

Agreed, but touchscreens and SD or USB means connectors, which are often a significant part of BOM cost and take up space. If you can do it all from the one-chip/module you have in there it's a big benefit when it comes to making something small and cheap.

Like I said, I've been fortunate to have alternate provisioning means.

I think the audio trick is a pretty elegant hack. Device agnostic and doesn't need a lot of handholding. But it also has an impact on the BOM. You need to add that Cortex M3 + microphone to sniff it out. Otherwise the whole thing could have been run off one chip like the ESP or GainSpan GS2100.

Doing the access point-to-client switcharoo is a good one too but needs a bit more instruction on the customer side, plus a way to whack the device back into setup mode when you need it.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#93

Post by lkbm »

jfoster wrote: post #82
jacobr1 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Each product has its own button

If each button is seen as ad and paid for by the brand shown on it, the costs likely look good from both Amazon's perspective and the brand's perspective. A button that costs somewhere between $5 and $10 might result in something like $240 worth of sales over its lifetime. (eg. 1 sale per month x $10 sale price x estimated 24 month lifetime) Seems scalable to me.

I think the concern is that I have, for example, around sixty different spices on my spice rack. Do I stick a button behind each one? My cluttered cabinet with AA batteries, AAA batteries, CFLs, compressed air, WD40, several dozen other items? How about each item in my cluttered fridge?

I think the Amazon Fresh Direct concept mentioned elsewhere by mason55 makes a lot more sense. Stuck to the front of my fridge I want a little scanner--one on my fridge, one by my cabinet, one in my laundry room. Running something across the barcode scanner when it's low/empty is as easy as pressing a button, and doesn't mean I have to put a button on/beside every single item, especially ones that move around my disorganized shelves.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#94

Post by mbesto »

pelf wrote: post #17

Is it just me that finds the entire concept of the Dash ridiculous? I mean, what's the idea, having a button for every single product we buy? And we need to set it up first. How is that any better than recurring ordering or just opening the website and ordering it? Are we expected to have an entire wall of dashes at our place? I guess we'll need to sort them alphabetically or by color, so we don't waste time searchin…

> I mean, what's the idea, having a button for every single product we buy?

It's a button for every repeatable commodity buy you make. Most applicable use cases are: toilet paper, detergent, cleaning supplies, certain groceries. In other words, it eliminates pretty much all friction to ensuring that you're always stocked with those products. You're right to be skeptical, but even just reducing a small amount of friction to buying means better convenience for the consumer and more money for Amazon.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#95

Post by zwieback »

TickleSteve wrote: post #63
maguirre wrote: post #49

Can anyone comment as to why they'd go for a cortex M3? @120Mhz it seems like overkill for the function of this device. I know it's pretty cheap but it could have made even cheaper with a less capable micro.

The setup process involves some audio processing which requires slightly more than trivial signal processing and also some RAM usage... Also handling the network stack requires some RAM. The combination of those two requirements and the low cost of the STM32s of that level of capability mean it was probably a sensible choice.

I'm surprised they went with F205, though. There are 32Lxxx chips with similar capabilities and lower power.

The whole thing looks like a quick turn of a reference design and the real low-cost design will follow later on.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#96

Post by Goronmon »

userbinator wrote: post #42
pelf wrote: post #17

Is it just me that finds the entire concept of the Dash ridiculous? I mean, what's the idea, having a button for every single product we buy? And we need to set it up first. How is that any better than recurring ordering or just opening the website and ordering it? Are we expected to have an entire wall of dashes at our place? I guess we'll need to sort them alphabetically or by color, so we don't waste time searchin…

It's the mindless-consumerism aspect of the idea that I find most disturbing: "press this button to feed yourself with product".

How mindful does a task such as "Buy another tube of toothpaste" or "Buy more shampoo" need to be?

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#98

Post by minthd »

joezydeco wrote: post #65
minthd wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cost comes from adding another company to the process - the module maker. But sure, at this stage it might not be worth it , maybe later.

Hardly a concern anymore. These are just line items on a bill of materials now: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/450-0103C/450-0103C...

$7.8 is pretty expensive when you can get a bluetooth mcu(in volume, from dialog i think) for $1.

Re: Disassembling the Amazon Dash

#100

Post by joezydeco »

minthd wrote: post #98
joezydeco wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hardly a concern anymore. These are just line items on a bill of materials now: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/450-0103C/450-0103C...

$7.8 is pretty expensive when you can get a bluetooth mcu(in volume, from dialog i think) for $1.

Like we said earlier, you can choose between a raw chip (like the Dialog) and handle the antenna design and all the various governmental certifications and testing yourself ($$$)..or you can buy a precertified module that drops in and you're ready to go.

It depends what you can afford and what each path will save you in the long run.

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