First Impressions: Dash Express
Last July I first laid my hands on the then-dubbed Dash GPS navigation beta unit while visiting friends in San Francisco. As I was with a friend that had just moved there and was not familiar with the roads, the Dash proved indispensable. Naturally, so would any GPS navigation device - not quite. The revamped unit, now called the Dash Express, changes the way people think about GPS navigation. The Dash Express has an Internet connection and is all about two-way communication.
A full review will come in the next few weeks after I get final projects out of the way but I just wanted to say that I am quite happy with this little device. The Internet connection is fully utilized when grabbing information from Yahoo! Local, which is the key selling point of the Dash Express for me. Others might buy it for the fancy live traffic data via the Dash Driver Network.
The Dash Express finding cheap gas locally through Y! Local.
Earlier this evening I unexpectedly put the Dash Express to the test. My roommate purchased a car on Craigslist today. The car kept dying on the road and we were only a mile from our house, albeit in the middle of rush hour in downtown Atlanta. I used the Dash Express to find the quickest and least congested route. That route had construction that the Dash Express did not yet know about so I just kept driving and it was able to recalculate a route that worked. Unfortunately, the car did not work after a timing chain skip killed the block for good.
Do you use any GPS gadgets in your car?
I’m relying on my HTC Trinity PDA for that purpose. All I can say is that, it does what it should.
I recently purchased a TomTom 920t - I love it - It’s small and compact and so far the directions have been spot on. The TomTom 920 comes with Bluetooth, so I can use my iphone via the bluetooth for hands free callng and talking (which is a good thing since California has a new law coming into affect on July 1st, where it will be illegal to drive and talk on our cell at the same time).
Also, with an optional cable the TomTom can control the ipod portion of my iphone so I can play my music over my car stereo. The TomTom has th best FM Transmitter that I’ve ever used. crystal clear.
Theres more to the TomTom and I would encourage anyone to take a look at it — its a sweet little machine.
I own a Garmin Nuvi 750. I only convinced myself to buy it due to the price I was able to get it for. I’ll wait for your review on the Dash Express before I look further into it.
I couldn’t help but notice…Chris’ car died?…Already!?
Here in Holland, home to TomTom HQ, there is a nice discussion going on:
As the results of TomTom are showing a decrease (rate of devices sold is stable or even higher, but at about 60% of price of alst year due to competition) people are pondering what is the trend to follow. In this case the weak spot is the device. While it is the advvantage for the producer to sell the “package” being device AND software, more and more mobile phones with built-in GPS become available, giving the comsumer the option to run any kind of nav-software on their own device, making it as multi-functional as they want to.
Even bigger disadavantage for the “package” distributors: e.g. Nokia offers a more than good built-in navigation application with its newest phones. And with bigger and brighter screens, touch operation and built-in GPS, who needs another device for in the car?
I guess that the software/application with most services will survive eventually, regardless from on which and what kind of device it will be displayed.
So, negative future for companies like TomTom? Yes, as the time that buying a device for one sole purpose (and some other like music transmission and carkit function) is all replaced by this time where people buy devices that can do it all… my GPS has wifi, a music player, a videoplayer, a 5MP camera and oh yeah, it with GSM, GPRS, EDGE and UMTS it is a phone too… (Nokia N95) what else do I need?
I both use a TomTom XL or TomTom Mobile installed on my Nokia N70 connected to a tiny bluetooth GPS antenna.
Here in Italy (and propably even Europe) the leading Personal Navigation Manufacturer is TomTom.
I will be getting one soon, I am totally sold on this little device!
Frankly, I love my Garmin Nuvi, but the Internet connection on the Dash Express is just too awesome for words. I love the live connection with Y! Local and the gas station price indicator. When I think about it, I probably would rarely use this feature, but I’m impressed nonetheless.
I’m assuming it has bluetooth built -in right? Does it work with your iPhone? 15 minutes of tinkering and I couldn’t get the Garmin and iPhone to talk to one another.
What camera did you for these shots? Was it your cell? Certainly not the N80… ;)
@dave haha no, not the d80. iphone. I don’t have the time now to do an all out review.. 2 papers totaling 40 pages, a presentation, 2 large coding/design projects and 2 finals in the next 2-3 weeks.
GPS units are for tourists and women. I cringe when I see a man, or should I say, a male, driving about at night with one of those dorky devices on.
Are we completely lost as a civilization? (No pun intended). People need a bird’s eye view of where they are, plus, even worse, annoying voice directions? That is sad.
To me, it tells me several things about our culture.
First, we’ll buy anything (as a society) that is just “cool” even if it rips away our dignity and independence. Despite the old adage that say just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should, we ignore in greater measure each year this advice. “Look, I can make my own ringtone.”, “Look, my pals can see all my favorite movies on my Facebook profile”, “Look, I can see the altitude on my watch”.
Second, we are a more transient community than ever. I don’t mean to say that we travel more (nothing wrong with that). I mean we are unstable. People move from towns and cities more than ever - and usually not to stay in the new place very long. Thus, the usefulness of a GPS device, for those types of people, has perhaps, some meaning. They live in a town for 3-5 years, never really getting to know it intimately, it’s culture, it’s people. Should they wonder off the main drag too far, they might get lost. If they were going to make a home there, raise a family, grow old, die there, they would likely just go with the flow and see where the road led. But when time, opportunity, and transiency are the staples of these types of people, it is far easier to turn on the GPS device (if it isn’t on already) and quickly get back to the where they are going. No sense in meeting someone new, finding a new town nearby, or a cool little cafe.
Third, the primal urge to explore is not enhanced by GPS. People with GPS think it is. They are wrong. It is exploring without risk and with a preview of what’s up ahead at all times. This is sad. We continually approach life with an ever-increasing feminine approach. As leaders, as men, we should do better.
As a caveat, this isn’t about the so-called manly objection to pulling over and asking for directions. There is a time to admit when you are lost and to get advice, especially when your wife and children are with you and starving (or worried). That’s the time to be humble and get your family safe or fed.
Even on vacations, GPS devices are ridiculous. Is there something wrong with a $7 Rand McNally mapbook? I fear an entire generation will grow up not even knowing how to read a map. Maps don’t rotate magically as you drive on roads. Of course, if you have even a decent understanding of our country and know your states and major highways, you can almost travel to nearly anywhere without even a map.
The big question as to be asked: So WHAT if you get lost? Are you in that much of a hurry in your life? Are you more interested in rushing back to your original destination rather than learning about your area?
How people can use GPS in the very town they live in is beyond my comprehension. Are they just idiots? If they can’t figure out how to get to the shopping mall without that device, I personally think they should turn in their driver’s license before they get someone killed.
The military, truck fleets, sales agents: all these make use of GPS fairly well (if necessary), but normal people should find better ways to integrate themselves into their communities, their states, and our nation. I could also (on occasion) concede that some financially secure men might want a GPS for their wife’s vehicle, thinking that it will help her from accidentally getting lost in the wrong part of town, especially if her vehicle screams “car jack me”. Personally, I think you’d be better off teaching your wife how to shoot a gun and spending your $500 on that instead of a GPS unit. Besides, women have a much greater tendency to travel straight to an appointment and back. Us men are the ones who tend to wonder and take the “scenic” route.
As Paul points out here, this is a good example of poor geek-budgeting. Spending $400 on a GPS device, but letting the engine blow. Prior cultural examples abound: Spending $1000 on a stereo, $2000 on rims, and putting them all on a 1989 Honda Prelude. Let’s just say those people aren’t exactly the brightest of our youth.
Thanks for the (huge!) comment Lawrence. To clarify a bit, the Dash is in my car and the car that blew was my roommate’s not mine. My car is a bit more stable than that. :-)
As for my GPS use - my daily routine doesn’t actually require the need for GPS. I’ve lived in Atlanta for 4 years and have done enough exploring to find my way about it sooner or later. What I do use the GPS for, especially with all the Y! Local stuff, is finding something to do. I can just get in the car, type in that I’m looking for a place to play billiards and be on my way without a second thought. That’s powerful.
Lawrence. I guess GPS devices are unnecessary wherever you and (similar) white trash live, but for fuck’s sake…comments like the above are totally unnecessary and uncalled for on a tech blog.
I have a Garmin Nuvi 350 and love it. My only problem is that I don’t leave it loose in the car (I have a convertible, and I usually park with the top down), but keep it in the glovebox. When I unlock the glovebox to reach for it, my wife has stolen it half the time! :-)
as a women, Lawrence… wow. I’m offended. Yes, men and women are different, but it’s not a shameful thing to be a woman. Your comment makes me think that’s what you think.
On another note, I have a (cheap, no-frills, non-car) gps, and wow, is it FUN! (see, confluence.org, geocaching, saying the exact speed of the vehicle you’re travelling in as a passenger without seeing the speedometer)
With a region like mine, you don’t need GPS.
Sorry I have to..
Lawrence:
“There is a time to admit when you are lost and to get advice, especially when your wife and children are with you and starving (or worried).”
Or you can just punch in what you want to eat on your GPS and you can find it 20x faster.
Here are some scenarios for you…
A guy is going on a business trip a few hours away, decides to drive. Do you really think it’s practical to be reading a damn map while you are driving on the highway? Then he should pull over you say? Why, so he can be late for his meeting and get fired?
Family is driving to go on a camping trip, when Dad starts getting chest pains. With your smarts, you’d say “Well they should just drive around and explore, find it on their own…why rush?” - OR - Punch in HOSPITAL on the GPS and OH WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!?
But yea, next time I drive across the border to another country to visit, lets say, NYC, I’d much prefer to bring 2 dozen maps with me. One for the highways, one for this city, one for that city…Not to mention they are never up-to-date.
Plus, are you completely oblivious to all the other features a GPS like this has? The ability to find the cheapest gas price instantly. Or maybe the ability to tell you the route with the least amount of traffic, so you can get home in time to take your son to his soccer game so he can have a fun time with his friends.
“As leaders, as men, we should do better.”
Who the **** are you to say that these, especially these days? Sexist bastard.
Put some thought into something before you outburst like that again.
Sorry Paul, I had to.
Why don’t they make a GPS unit that comes with a radar detector? When they come out with that, I’ll buy one.
John C