New York – Amazon is expanding its smart-home ordering service to a range of new appliances. Its Dash “replenishment” service lets users reorder common household items with a touch of a button. (Its first incarnation involved plastic “Dash buttons” dedicated to particular products; pressing one orders a set quantity of, say, diapers or dishwasher detergent.)
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The new Dash devices will work in a similar fashion, although they won’t be dedicated buttons anymore. Instead, Brother connected printers will let you order replacement toner or ink automatically. A GE washer will reorder detergent when it runs low. And a Gmate glucose meter, which tests blood sugar for diabetics, automatically reorders testing strips and blood-drawing lancets when needed. Users can sign up online to activate the service.
Amazon first announced the expansion to the Dash line in October; now the new products are hitting the market. Others in the works include Purell hand-sanitizer dispensers, Samsung laser printers, “smart” home locks from Austin and others.
The button idea is terrible. Anyone with children will tell you that. Imagine what happens when your two year old decides to press the button thirty times for fun.