Kenmore Alfie Voice-Controlled Personal Shopper review: For shoppers with plenty of time but too little imagination

Don't confuse the Kenmore Alfie with the Amazon Dot. Kenmore's puck-shaped device aims to simplify your shopping experiences, not control your smart home. In that sense, it's more like an Amazon Dash, except that pushing its button initiates a speech-recognition session that helps you buy any product from virtually any retailer. Kenmore's website offers this example of Alfie's abilities: "Alfie, I'm searching for a drill with a budget of $40. The response, displayed on the Alfie smartphone app along with a picture of the product is "Hi Mary, I recommend Craftsman 3/8-inch Corded Drill, now for $39.99. Let know if you'd like to order it!"