Dash Express: Smart GPS
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are one of the most useful items for a driver, especially in a city full of traffic. We usally think of portable car GPS system as a device that shows us the direction from point A to B, but at CES 2008 in Las Vegas, various companies presented the so-called next-generation.
Dash Express, for example, presented Dash Navigation, a collaboration with Yahoo and which includes some useful features. It’s the first internet connected GPS of its kind, which is able to receive real time traffic information from different sources including other GPS systems.
Portable car GPS systems in different cars send data about speed and location to Dash Express in your vehicle and that data is also sent to the center at Dash Navigation. Servers then calculate traffic conditions and suggests alternative paths if there is a congestion ahead.
According to Engadget price for the device and the service is disappointing.
The only other issue is price, which is just a little bit harder to ignore — actually, at $400 for the Express and $13 a month for the service, it’s almost impossible to focus on anything else. Even if you sign the two-year agreement which lowers the monthly fee to $10 / month, you’re still putting a $640 dent in your wallet. That might sound reasonable for those of you who pre-ordered the Express when it was still $600, but in a market that’s becoming increasingly saturated with inexpensive traffic-capable PNDs, it’s going to take some doing for Dash to convince consumers it’s worth it.
However, avoiding traffic jams is not the only feature as this in car gps system allows you to search for free parking places and even alerts you to where you can find the cheapest fuel.
Photo: © sonnyandsandy
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