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Amazon Buys Smart Doorbell Maker Ring For a Reported $1 Billion (cnbc.com)
hyperclocker shares a report from CNBC: Amazon is buying smart doorbell maker Ring, a deal that will allow the company to expand its home security and in-house delivery services. In an email statement to CNBC, Ring's spokesperson confirmed the deal, saying: "We'll be able to achieve even more by partnering with an inventive, customer-centric company like Amazon. We look forward to being a part of the Amazon team as we work toward our vision for safer neighborhoods." Amazon is expected to keep Ring as an independent business, much like it has with its other acquisitions, like Zappos and Twitch, according to GeekWire, which earlier reported details of the deal. Financial details of the move were not disclosed, but Reuters reported it could be worth more than $1 billion, making it one of the largest acquisitions in Amazon's history.
a horrible, poorly conceived idea that only an idiot would buy
Idiot here. I have a Ring doorbell. I give it 2 out of 5 stars. The concept is ok, but the implementation is terrible. When someone rings the doorbell, I get a notification on my cell phone along with a snapshot of the visitor. The problem is that there is a latency of about 45 seconds, so by the time I get the notification, the visitor has already given up and left.
For the few visitors that stick around long enough, I can communicate with them thru my cell phone, which is nice if I am not home, or if I want more info before I open the door. But, again, the implementation is terrible. The speaker in the doorbell is weak and crappy, and there is a huge amount of latency in the audio. It is practically impossible to have a constructive conversation.
I can't see anything they have that would be worth $1B. The concept is nice, but obvious, so Amazon should be able to roll-their-own implementation. The only rationale that I can see is if Ring has some critical patents that Amazon can either use themselves, or use to block competitors.