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Amazon and Brita team up for Wi-Fi water pitchers

Amazon and Brita team up for Wi-Fi water pitchers

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It has come to this: 'smart' water pitchers

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Back when Amazon first revealed plans for its Dash Replenishment Service, its automatic-reordering system that would be triggered by "smart" appliances, it named Brita as a partner. Now, that partnership has come to fruition. Starting today, Brita will sell a sensor-filled, WiFi-connected Brita pitcher (yes, you read that correctly) that will work with Dash Replenishment Service.

The new pitcher, called the Brita Infinity pitcher, will be able to track how much water is flowing through the pitcher. When approximately 40 gallons of water have passed through the pitcher's purification filter, the pitcher will then send a signal to the Dash Replenishment Service to reorder more filters.

The new Brita Infinity pitcher will sell on Amazon for $44.95. A three-pack of replacement filters costs between $15 and $20. Brita says the pitcher's two lithium metal (non-rechargeable) batteries should last nearly five years, even if stored in a cold environment. You know, like your fridge. The pitcher holds up to eight cups of water, and is BPA-free.

Are Wi-Fi water pitchers the beginning of the end or a brilliant solution?

For Brita, which is sold through The Clorox Company in the North Americas, the Infinity pitcher is the first "connected" water filtration product the company has released. It has offered pitchers with electronic filter indicators for awhile, but nothing that would send a signal to some type of compatible software. The company is clearly trying to keep its Brita product lineup fresh at a time when sales of bottled water are on the rise.

(No word on whether the water from the Brita Infinity pitcher will enable you, too, to shoot 38-foot buzzer beaters.)

For Amazon, the Brita pitcher is one of the more accessible consumer products that works with the Dash Replenishment Service, which was first announced last spring. Since the end of last month, when the service officially launched, partners like Whirlpool, General Electric, Brother International, Gmate, and Samsung's printer division, have all announced select products that now work with the service.

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