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Comment by enraged_camel | Hacker News Reader

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enraged_camel

Sorry, but ordering stuff from Amazon on my iPhone takes way more than 10 seconds. I have to:

1. Find my iPhone (I don't carry it with me around the house)

2. Enter my PIN to unlock it

3. Open Safari

4. Navigate to Amazon.com

5. Type in their search bar and browse through the results

6. Click on the product I want

7. Add it to my cart

8. Go to check out and confirm settings (e.g. delivery speed)

9. Place order

It's actually way more cumbersome than it has to be.

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If you use their app instead of their web site, and you order it often, it'll be way faster. Of course, if you don't carry your phone with you then that's not going to work, but it seems like putting your phone in your pocket is a better solution than a specialized single-purpose button widget.

From the description, it sounds like you don't need your phone with you. If it used bluetooth, then I think you would. But it uses wifi. So as long as your phone is on your wifi network, then it should work.

My point is that if you have your phone in your pocket, you can use it to place an order directly, rather than relying on a separate single-purpose widget.

You're making assumptions about what people are wearing around the house that are by no means universal.

> My point is that if you have your phone in your pocket

When I'm in the privacy of my own home, and I'm not expecting guests, you'd be hard pressed to find me dressed at all, let alone in anything that has pockets ;)

Yes. This is truly great design thinking.

But wait, how do you handle nudists?

I'm trying to make a haiku something like this:

Out of clean clothes today,

Also laundry detergent,

Imagine surprise face on UPS man when I open door.

Barely an adult

Push button like a hamster

When I need something

Out of clothes today,

out of detergent, as well.

Hi UPS man.

Never again ask Alexa,

"Get me some clean clothes!"

1. Find my iPhone

From the description of it, I think the button wouldn't work if you don't carry a phone with you, as it depends on it.

I think it does work without your phone on you - it says it uses wifi, so as long as your phone is currently on your wifi network, it sounds like it will work. That should be likely for most people, even if they don't carry their phones with them.

The phone is only required for setup (configuring the button's WiFi connection to your router). Once that is complete, the button talks to your router directly via WiFi, with no phone required.

For things you regularly buy (but not regularly enough to set up a subscription), you can speed that up quite a bit by going to your order history, and using the search field there that searches just within your past orders. Find a prior order for that product and use the "But It Again" button.

Its about how much time it takes less to order from Amazon then it takes to either grab an additional item when you are already at the store, or make a trip to the store just for one item.

"Siri, I need laundry detergent. And twinkies. Lots of twinkies."

There is a better solution than spreading branded landfill buttons across your house!

Wow you are right! It sounds so convenient when you manufacture a description to make it sound like we are currently going through 9 arduous steps instead of opening a website!

I pretty much agree with him. Although I am a smartphone user I don't think they are as practical as usually portrait. I'd rather press a single button on my washing machine to get more detergent than go through the hassle of pulling my phone, unlocking it, trying to type into an on-screen keyboard (where I'll get it wrong 4 times) etc etc. Actually, I HATE pulling my phone to look stuff up on it, it's usually a huge hassle caused by the combination of shitty wait times til things happen (not just connecting to stuff - why do I have to watch a 0.5s animation of stuff sliding or fading for everything I want to do on it?) + clumsy fingers.

It's not about opening a website, its about having technology integrated into your workflow such that you don't have to use a computer to finish a task.

There was an article posted about usage of bands in Disney world. The idea is to have technology integrated with you such that the idea of interacting with a generic computer shouldn't exist.

what about the consequences of "streamlining" all these activities? We will create tons of disposable, one-purpose devices to add "convenience" to our life?

Regardless of whether the 9 steps I listed are arduous, the fact stands that ordering some friggin' laundry detergent should not require 9 steps.

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