Social media might have mocked Amazon's recent Prime Day product lineup.
(On Twitter: "The best deal I've seen so far is 15 percent off a box of pop tarts. #AmazonPrimeDay." "We finally know where all that crap from SkyMall ended up ... #PrimeDay." And "Oh man, gotta set my alarm clock to 4:59 a.m. so I can score this [24-inch extra long handled] shoehorn! #HappyPrimeDay.")
But Amazon claims that its one-day 20th anniversary sale for Prime members was primarily a success. Not only did the company sell more products than on last year's Black Friday, The New York Times quoted spokesman Greg Greeley as saying the sale prompted "hundreds of thousands" of new members to join Amazon Prime.
And, well, I was one of them. Never mind that I don't buy all that much from Amazon. Never mind that I don't mess much with music or movie streaming. Never mind that I don't have a Kindle and can't benefit from the owners' lending library. Never mind that I don't need another cloud drive for photo storage.
But, but ... if I paid $99 for a one-year Prime membership, I probably would stream more music and movies and take more photos. And I'd get free two-day shipping on that Kindle that I'd now need for free books! All that and, mmm, Pop-Tarts too! This is how my mind works.
Armed with my new membership and sense of belonging, I scrolled through the so-called deals. Hmm, a videocassette tape rewinder, an Adam Sandler four-movie DVD (Click, Big Daddy, 50 First Dates, Mr. Deeds) and compression socks. Prime Day was looking positively primeval.
But, hey, the shipping was free!
Then something caught my eye. The Amazon Echo. At a recent party, I had seen one of these bug-zapper-looking contraptions that plays music while acting like a Siri for the home. A "lightning deal," it was was marked down to $129.99 --$50 less than the regular price. Maybe I'd think about it. But there was no time! A timer was rapidly counting down minutes. Before I could lose out on this thing I didn't know I wanted, I had to buy it!
Quick math: I just spent $228.99 between the membership and Echo.
Hey, the shipping was free!
As for the Echo, the light, 9.25-inch cylinder is a fairly nifty and simple-to-use contraption with good sound. Her name (at least her "wake word," which triggers space-age light effects) is Alexa. And I've got her playing all my new Prime Music and informing me of things like sports scores, appointments, weather and trivia (FYI, the next full moon is on Friday), as well as adding things to in-app to-do and shopping lists.
Thanks, Alexa, but I'm probably done shopping for a little while.
Well, maybe.
While I'm still learning her capabilities, it appears she can play audio books (when I order some). And she can control compatible smart home devices -- like those from Philips Hue and Wink (if I ever buy them) -- with simple voice commands. And, wow, she can even buy things by reordering Prime-eligible products in my Amazon shopping history (meaning I'll have to buy stuff, so I can use her to reorder the stuff!).
Hey, the shipping is free!
Alexa wants you to email:
jchristman@arkansasonline.com
Spin Cycle is a weekly smirk at pop culture.
Style on 07/26/2015