While Amazon's Dash Buttons are certainly a cool way to re-order commonly used products, the online retailer apparently also sees a use for the clever little buttons in the larger "Internet of Things" space. That's why Amazon's latest Dash Button has nothing to do with ordering everyday items at all (that is, unless you want it to). Instead, this new Dash Button can be programmed to do practically anything you can think of.
For a cool $20, the Dash Button offers an easy platform for developers to get started in toying around in the IoT space, Amazon says (via GeekWire). Example use cases the retailer offers up include things like counting items, tracking usage, sending alerts and more. However, the real potential for this programmable Dash Button lies in its integration with third-party services. From Amazon:
The button can be used as a remote control for Netflix, a switch for your Philips Hue light bulb, a check-in/check-out device for Airbnb guests, or a way to order your favorite pizza for delivery. You can integrate it with third-party APIs like Twitter, Facebook, Twilio, Slack or even your own company's applications. Connect it to things we haven't even thought of yet.
It's certainly a really cool concept for enterprising developers to toy around with, and it'll be interesting to see what uses people come up with for the button. Unfortunately, however, the button is currently listed as out of stock, and it isn't clear when it will be available to order.
What types of tasks would you program the Dash Button to do? Let us know in the comments!
