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.
June 30th, 2008 at 8:25 am
[...] be compared to the computed Dash routes, including traffic detours, to decide which is optimal. The Dash Express via [...]
June 30th, 2008 at 9:01 am
[...] Dash Express GPS upgrade details [...]
June 30th, 2008 at 9:30 am
This is what I get for waiting to post the rest of my review of the shipping software until this morning. Pretty funny.
Hey, Dave…what’s going on with the RSS feed? This article and the last couple aren’t showing up…did you burn the site feed or what?
June 30th, 2008 at 9:33 am
We migrated our platform Friday night… both a hardware migration and a WordPress upgrade. What URL are you using to find the feed? Drop me an email and thanks for helping us sort it out.
dzatz@dash.net
June 30th, 2008 at 9:50 am
This is great news! I got the update this morning on my way to work. I’m looking forward to testing out the new stuff this week. I don’t understand how some hardware manufacturers these days don’t update the software. This is what makes it such a great service.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:28 am
[...] Added 30 Jun 08 from blog.dash.net Flag as inappropriate or broken [...]
July 7th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I have tried the new update and it works great. The GPS fix is much faster. The map re-drawing is much faster. The new along the route feature is great. However I wish I could add construction/blocked roads to the map so Dash can re-route around it. I also noticed the traffic info is not up-to-date. I went to the city on July 4th and some of the roads were closed. The Dash express didn’t know about it. When I returned from the city, the traffic was backed up due to the fireworks display. The Dash express showed no traffic.
July 8th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Hi —
Do you have (if you can comment) an update to the routing engine in the works? Reviews have praised your traffic concept, but found that routing is not equal to Garmin and the like. Since that’s software (albeit expensive software) it can be updated.
thanks
July 11th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
[...] several enhancements including a larger result sets, various user experience improvements, Search Along Route ability, and custom icons. But that’s not [...]
July 11th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
@Sudeep Traffic data and road closures are culled from a variety of sources, including road sensors and other Dash drivers - it reflects about the current conditions within about 15 minutes. If you tap Menu > Settings > Report a problem on your device the next time you encounter this, we can dig deeper into the issue. Also please feel free to contact me directly with info on that specific street/route.
@Robert Dash is a platform - our software and services will continue to evolve. In fact, we just rolled out an API update and new Firefox Send2Car plugin today and we’ve got a historical traffic map update due next week.
July 17th, 2008 at 1:06 am
[...] can buy a wireless headset! — along a route has long been a capability of Yahoo! Maps through the Dash navigation system, but now you can also pull that information out of the Yahoo! Local API. Now, what I’d really love [...]
August 14th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
[...] an inaugural DashApp partner developer, has incorporated community feedback and leveraged our June software update to implement a new free service. Previously, Dash Express customers had access to a real time speed [...]
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:11 am
[...] a follow-on to the June08 Dash Express update, we’ve recently expanded our popular Search Along Route™ functionality. Initially, Search [...]