Amazon Prime Dash Buttons go virtual

Where Amazon Prime's Dash Buttons are going, they don't need physical buttons.

A year and a half after their introduction, Amazon's one-press product ordering system is entering the next plane of existence. Now, instead of ordering physical buttons for products that affix to walls, washing machines, bathrooms and fridges so you can order necessities like Play-Doh, laundry detergent and condoms on a semi-frequent basis, new Amazon virtual Dash Buttons live in your computer and mobile device.

The company quietly rolled out the new Dash button option on Friday morning.

When Amazon launched Dash buttons in July of 2015, each one cost $4.99. Soon Amazon was reimbursing Prime customers for the cost of the button on first purchases of the Dash-connected product. By last summer, Amazon had dropped the Dash button price to 99 cents and was still giving out a $4.99 credit on first purchases with each Dash button. Now, because the buttons can be digital, they're free and you can use them to just start ordering. You can still order physical Dash buttons. Read more...