[mrxd]

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 home screen is easy to forget.

The camera-based barcode scanners like the one built into the Amazon mobile app are significantly more difficult to use than laser scanners. In a grocery shopping context, shoppers will purchase dozens of different products and every bit of additional frustration and delay matters.

One issue with the website: the hero image is really bad. The background is blurred out so there's no context and there are no other objects in the frame so I have no sense of scale. If there was like an apple next to it or something, and you could see it was in a kitchen, that would be so much better.

[lovemenot]

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 internet aside, all support issues will be standard and coming back to the same place.

For a mass-market voice UI device with no screen, at this stage in the game, voice recognition has to be best in class. I doubt Amazon could have managed this through a plethora of mobile devices. And they would not want their commercial voice data to be processed on Apple's or Google's servers via OS services.

I expect a tear-down will show that some of the parts used are, for now, relatively expensive, but at volume, this device can become a give-away / throw-away.

[cookiecaper]

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.

[Zotabite]

This is precisely how it works.

You say things to the mic or scan items and they show up on your Dash list. From here, you can add them to your cart to check out.

Generic things like eggs, milk etc will default to the item you typically would order, so there is an aspect of personalization to it as well.

[dhaneshnm]

Levelling up against Costco and Walmart in really innovative way. Amazon had to have a "USP" other than "we will deliver stuff to your door steps". Now not only "you save the trip to the store, but also you get convenience of making your shopping list anytime, anywhere". Smart strategy that would be hard for traditional competitors like Wal-Mart to copy.

[gregcohn]

noting that a $299/year Amazon fresh subscription is required to play, this thing probably amortizes itself and then some pretty quickly. (Increases frequency of orders, increases number of things ordered, likely to increase retention of users ie length of subscription.)

[moonka]

What subscription are you referring to? If you spend $300 a month you get the big radish program which gives you lower minimums for delivery, but other than that there's no subscription program afaik.

Edited: I guess in the bay area it's a subscription program. In Seattle there's no subscription so I was confused.

[calvin]

"Amazon Prime Fresh members get the benefits of both Amazon Prime and AmazonFresh for an annual membership fee of $299. Prime Fresh membership is currently available only in the Southern California and San Francisco, CA Metro areas."

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...

[johnlbevan2]

>"without the friction of having to help everyone find the app and register with the same account"

Sounds like a gap - Ninite for mobile.

(A quick Google suggests the idea's out there, but not yet implemented - http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/mvgh7/is_there_some...)

[triangleman]

johnlbevan, you are hellbanned, that means no one can see your posts unless they are signed in and have "showdead" turned on.

[BallinBige]

I have to kindly disagree.

Every one is becoming increasingly more addicted to their iDevices or Android devices. It doesnt have anything to do with IQ, its common sense to use whats on you - your 'smart phone.

[wbillingsley]

"...go ahead and grab it with flour on your hands". I don't know about you, but I wouldn't grab my smartphone with flour on my hands. Neither would I be trying to take a picture of a barcode with my cellphone in one hand, baby in the other, phone cover flapping down over my hand making it tricky to see what I'm doing while I try to pudge a greasy thumb at the "shoot" button while... blast I dropped it and it's bounced off the granite bench top onto the tiled floor.

"My smartphone has this computational ability" does not equal "my smartphone is in any way designed to be ergonomic or convenient for this task"