The Dash Express June08 Update
Just about three months after launch, we’re fired up to release the Dash Express June08 update – it contains literally hundreds of modifications, many straight from forum and blog feedback. It’s also several firsts for us… and the industry. Our first software update. The first automotive GPS software update via WiFi. And the first GPS which recognizes that sometimes YOU know the secret shortcut. Highlights:
MyRoute™ – With the new MyRoute feature, as you travel from one point to another, Dash Express will automatically learn your preferred route in the background. The next time that you drive between the same origin and destination, the first route choice will be MyRoute, complete with traffic-based arrival time data. MyRoute can be compared to the computed Dash routes, including traffic detours, to decide which is optimal.
Search Along Route™ – Finding whatever you need on the road using Yahoo! Local search just got even easier. With the new Search Along Route feature, you can now search for anything you need along your selected route, shortening diversions on the way to your destination. Want to grab a latte on the way to a meeting? Simply do a Yahoo! Local search for “Starbucks” and select “along route” to be presented with the stores that are most conveniently located. Results are displayed with the distance from your current location, the distance off the route and the direction of the destination relative to the selected route.
FasterFind™ – With the new FasterFind feature, we have dramatically decreased the time it takes for Dash Express to find its position and start navigating. Powered by SiRFInstantFix technology, Dash Express uses additional over-the-air GPS satellite position information to get a fast GPS fix so you can be underway in seconds. FasterFind will even improve the device’s ability to get a GPS fix under difficult conditions such as beneath tree cover and near high-rise buildings.
Performance Enhancements – Continued system tuning has enabled significant progress in overall device performance. For instance, the June08 Update increases the speed in which Dash Express draws its maps by more than 50%. It also enables quicker toggling between 2D and 3D map views and smoother map zooming.
User Interface Improvements – The June08 Update also includes numerous customer-requested refinements to the Dash Express interface, making it even more intuitive for daily use. These improvements include tuning the route selection screen to make it easier to select among the multiple route choices, improving the readability of road labels on the map and expanding the night mode color scheme across more menus for glare reduction.
Welcome to the (Mobile) Social
We’re not your average, every day automotive GPS company. In fact, we’re somewhat reluctant to even use the “GPS PND” label in describing the business given our unique philosophy… We’re running on a community-developed operating system. We’re crowd-sourcing real-time traffic data. And we’ve got an open API that’s being used to tap into online social networking functionality. That’s why we were all fired up to participate in the recent O’Reilly conference: Graphic Social Patterns East. Check out a few of our Flickr-hosted event photos and videos.
Dash Express Now $299.99
After seeing such outstanding results from our partners’ recent Dads & Grads promotion, we’ve decided to lower the price of the Dash Express. Hitting the $299.99 price point makes the Dash Express affordable for even more customers - accelerating the growth of the Dash Driver Network.
Being early adopters ourselves, we’ve witnessed our fair share of price drops. So, as a token of our appreciation, we’re providing an additional three months of free service to everyone who purchased a Dash Express on or before May 31.
Does Your GPS Tweet?
As the title asks, does your GPS tweet? If you’ve got a Dash Express, it sure does!
We opened our API just a few short weeks ago and the response has been amazing - with a couple dozen applications already built. Mike Tuckman and Michael Muni have been leading the Dash customer application development charge and even launched DashApps.net to spotlight the work of our community.
We’ve got speed traps, we’ve got weather, we’ve got radio info… But my favorite Dash App has to be Twitter. Maybe it’s not the most practical and I wouldn’t suggest firing it up while your car is in motion, but what other automotive GPS will alert your friends as to your location (perhaps, when you’re running late) and pull down their status updates? The customizable app can selectively tweet any combination of a personal message and your address, street, city, state, latitude, longitude, plus links to Yahoo! or Google maps. Additionally, the 20 most recent tweets of those you follow can be pulled down to the GPS.
This the flexibility of an open API and this the power of a two-way device. If you’ve got a clever application in mind for our platform, drop us a line at developer@dash.net .
Dash does TECH Cocktail, Chicago
Last week, we set up shop at TECH cocktail - a networking event established by Frank Gruber and Eric Olson to “amplify the technology signal in under served markets and have fun doing it.” We had a great time interacting with the tech savvy yet traffic-congested Chicago community. And to experience some local “flavor,” Chicago native Mark introduced us to the (in)famous Wieners Circle… though we ‘re reluctant to repeat the dialog on our family friendly blog.
New Traffic Model Update
This afternoon we released our second historical traffic model update to Dash customers. The wireless update includes traffic data collected from the Dash Driver Network during the past month. For a traffic model primer, check out CEO Paul Lego’s recent description.
Getting smarter every day…!
Dash for Father’s Day
Amazon has included Dash Express in a promotion for Father’s Day. We are thrilled our online partner has elected to include Dash Express in a limited time promotion designed to make gift selection for Father’s Day an easier task. We welcome fathers everywhere into the Dash Driver Network.