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| Amazon moves towards Internet of Things shopping with Dash | Amazon moves towards Internet of Things shopping with Dash |
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| Have you ever been stuck on the toilet with no toilet roll? An end to that nightmare might soon be in sight. Amazon’s next big thing in the “Internet of Things” lets you order a new roll at the touch of a button, even as you sit in the smallest room. | Have you ever been stuck on the toilet with no toilet roll? An end to that nightmare might soon be in sight. Amazon’s next big thing in the “Internet of Things” lets you order a new roll at the touch of a button, even as you sit in the smallest room. |
| The Dash Button is a single-use Wi-Fi enabled ordering device, you press it and it orders directly for you. Of course, until Amazon perfect drone delivery, the new toilet roll may not quite arrive in time … but for plenty of other products will. | The Dash Button is a single-use Wi-Fi enabled ordering device, you press it and it orders directly for you. Of course, until Amazon perfect drone delivery, the new toilet roll may not quite arrive in time … but for plenty of other products will. |
| The future could see a home filled with buy buttons for branded products and machines that can instantly re-order supplies when the coffee, washing powder or nappies run out. | The future could see a home filled with buy buttons for branded products and machines that can instantly re-order supplies when the coffee, washing powder or nappies run out. |
| The Dash Button, about the size of a doorbell button, covered in a brightly coloured brand representing what will be bought if the button is pushed comes without a price indicator – or the physiological barrier that seeing the cost creates. | The Dash Button, about the size of a doorbell button, covered in a brightly coloured brand representing what will be bought if the button is pushed comes without a price indicator – or the physiological barrier that seeing the cost creates. |
| They tie in with the Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service, a system by which products such as washing machines, printers or water filter jugs can automatically order refills when they run out straight from Amazon – one of the original promises of internet connected fridges. | They tie in with the Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service, a system by which products such as washing machines, printers or water filter jugs can automatically order refills when they run out straight from Amazon – one of the original promises of internet connected fridges. |
| Such fridges have long been the talisman of the “Internet of Things” - network connected devices in the home that automate and anticipate things like shopping or turning on and off lights and hearing depending on your proximity. | Such fridges have long been the talisman of the “Internet of Things” - network connected devices in the home that automate and anticipate things like shopping or turning on and off lights and hearing depending on your proximity. |
| The Dash buttons are one step back from the replenishment service, designed to retrofit existing products that can’t be internet connected themselves, and join the Dash barcode scanner wand launched in April 2014. The wand lets you scan a barcode and then purchase directly from Amazon – much like the company’s smartphone app allows you to do using your phone’s camera | The Dash buttons are one step back from the replenishment service, designed to retrofit existing products that can’t be internet connected themselves, and join the Dash barcode scanner wand launched in April 2014. The wand lets you scan a barcode and then purchase directly from Amazon – much like the company’s smartphone app allows you to do using your phone’s camera |
| Welcome to the Internet of Things shopping future | |
| Amazon has partnered with a range of brands including razor firm Gillette, moisturiser Olay, coffee system Tassimo and kitchen towel maker Bounty to brand the buttons. | Amazon has partnered with a range of brands including razor firm Gillette, moisturiser Olay, coffee system Tassimo and kitchen towel maker Bounty to brand the buttons. |
| Each button connects to the internet via home Wi-Fi and can be configured with the Amazon shopping smartphone app to purchase a specific item when pushed. The buttons are stuck on to walls, tables or anywhere with sticky pads, and only order one of item when pressed – so kids pressing the button 30 times won’t end up ordering 30 packets of Haribo, or 3,000 toilet rolls. | Each button connects to the internet via home Wi-Fi and can be configured with the Amazon shopping smartphone app to purchase a specific item when pushed. The buttons are stuck on to walls, tables or anywhere with sticky pads, and only order one of item when pressed – so kids pressing the button 30 times won’t end up ordering 30 packets of Haribo, or 3,000 toilet rolls. |
| Users can cancel orders within 30 minutes of a button press using the smartphone app and are alerted every time a button is pushed. The service and buttons are only available to Amazon Prime customers in the US, who have to apply for an invite, but will be sent the buttons for free. | Users can cancel orders within 30 minutes of a button press using the smartphone app and are alerted every time a button is pushed. The service and buttons are only available to Amazon Prime customers in the US, who have to apply for an invite, but will be sent the buttons for free. |
| There’s not yet a release date for the UK, and Amazon doesn’t currently sell groceries on the same scale as it does in the US, so it might be still some way off. | There’s not yet a release date for the UK, and Amazon doesn’t currently sell groceries on the same scale as it does in the US, so it might be still some way off. |
| It is Amazon’s attempt to make the shopping process as automated as possible, much like its Prime next-day delivery service, allowing customers to buy new products without thinking about them and, more importantly, without shopping around, thus excluding the competition. | It is Amazon’s attempt to make the shopping process as automated as possible, much like its Prime next-day delivery service, allowing customers to buy new products without thinking about them and, more importantly, without shopping around, thus excluding the competition. |
| The Dash buttons are available in the US now, while products with the replenishment service built in will be available from a range of manufacturers including Whirlpool, Brita, Quirky and Brother in the US in the autumn. | The Dash buttons are available in the US now, while products with the replenishment service built in will be available from a range of manufacturers including Whirlpool, Brita, Quirky and Brother in the US in the autumn. |
| • Samsung pledges over $100m to make an open Internet of Things finally happen | • Samsung pledges over $100m to make an open Internet of Things finally happen |
| • The internet of things - the next big challenge to our privacy | • The internet of things - the next big challenge to our privacy |