Dash Navigation is now taking preorders for a dashboard unit that feature a two-way wireless connection to the Internet. Called the Dash Express, the GPS-based navigation device is designed to provide mobile users with access to information on local traffic, road conditions, and even gasoline prices.
The built-in cellular GPRS and Wi-Fi capabilities of Dash Express give users instant access to information about what’s happening along the freeways and arterial roads on which they expect to travel.
This picture of road conditions is compiled from the data gathered by each and every unit on the network, together with information supplied by unrelated traffic resources. In addition, Dash Express automatically alerts travelers whenever traffic conditions suddenly change and a faster route becomes available.
Bypassing Traffic Snarls
In a blog posting, Mark Williamson, an employee at Dash Navigation, explained how he used the unit when he had to rush his pregnant wife to the hospital last month. “I knew the most direct route was a local highway (California’s infamous US 101), but this can be a parking lot at 8:00 a.m.,” Williamson noted. “My other option was to take various surface streets, but I really needed to know what traffic was like on these two routes before making my first turn.”
Dash Express gave Williamson the green light for using the local highway and the couple arrived at the hospital well in advance of their daughter’s birth.
Road warriors can use Dash Express to access local search services of Yahoo and other providers in order to review the people, places, products, and services that are located in the vicinity of their routes. For example, the device provides access to gas prices, theater schedules, and other time-sensitive information.
Unit Customization
The MyDash portal gives Dash Express users the ability to create and send customized search buttons…