Amazon slashes Dash Express by $100 for the day
By Paul Miller 
posted Oct 28th 2008 10:30AM
posted Oct 28th 2008 10:30AM
Originally a $600 piece of kit and released at $400, Amazon and Dash have been drilling away at the Dash Express pricetag since its conception. The unit permanently hit $300 in June, but we're getting the one-day-only vibe on this latest sale: Amazon's offering the Dash Express Navigator as its Gold Box deal of the day for a mere $200 (monthly fees notwithstanding). Not bad for an internet-connected, ultra-extensible navigation device -- in fact, not too bad for 4.3-inch GPS device of any sort, even if those maps are still mega-ugly.
Engadget is turning into a deals site?
That's a pretty conceited response.
1/10
Looks good but there are some cautionary tales in the GoldBox comments. Here's the most telling:
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On the Dash.net forums (open only to owners) there is a survey question that asks, "Are you happy with your DE".
The results are:
Are you happy with your dash?
Yes 83 62.88%
No 49 37.12%
That is a pretty poor result for a "revolutionary device".
I own one, I recently discontinued my service. The traffic is no better (possibly worse) than the free FM traffic service from Navigon and now Garmin. The interface feels old school compared to the latest GPS units. The biggest issue is that the routing algorithms are very poor and will give you downright absurd routings. Dash knows this is a problem and has been promising a software update. Last software update was in June (did not address routing). Next software update is "by end of year".
Best Buy (yuck) just released a two-way GPS, Magellan should soon be doing the same. Dash had great promise but I am not convinced they can survive the long haul. I will say that $199 is a great price.
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Matt, the number of people participating in that customer-initiated survey is but a tiny fraction of our customer base. Generally speaking and industry-wide, forum traffic skews towards folks seeking technical support and isn't representative. The June08 update, bundled quite a few new features and improvements - including routing. And we'll continue to add features and enhance performance based on customer feedback... got a big, free update in the pipeline for later this year as you know. :) -DZ, Dash Nav
@Dave
I was a loyal and enthusiastic Dash user. I still have mine for the moment. However I also didn't buy the paid package due to the horrible routing. I would have it route a track to my house that would start ON MY STREET (but a mile away) and it would take me all over town. I have reported every error and expected something to happen, but nothing (yet).
My Dash has taken me up to 50 miles out of my way on a routing and then the directions said I was at my destination. I was surrounded by 10 miles of corn, 50 miles from my destination (Dulles Airport). Then my wife tries to route a trip from BFE in Ohio to home in Indy and ends up tramping through 5 small towns out of here way, going 30 miles out from the highway.
The traffic does a little better and is right about 3/4 of the time for me, but that other 1/4 makes me want to through it out the window. Major roads that are CLOSED (for months) show as green!
I would say the majority of your satisfied users are not using it for routing but for traffic and finding restaurants locally. I'll probably sell mine on eBay as soon as I pick up a new one on Black Friday.
I was also an early adopter of the Dash Express and was very disappointed with the device. The tech has promise but they dropped the ball on the hardware.
Hope they stick around long enough for V2. Dave Zatz makes a good point about the types of users drawn to forums in general.
@Dave Zatz
Anytime a company or representative feels the need to comment in a comment section to rebuff a negative view it only cements my decision to never buy their products or services. If you created a great product with excellent support you wouldn't have a large vocal group of dissatisfied customers. The correct response is no response. Let people, positive and negative, speak their mind on forums/comments and take in all of the info and use it to improve your product and service. That will speak for itself.
I don't know that I necessarily agree w/ this. Products like these are undergoing constant revisions to either address problems or add functionality. If Dave has a vested interest in the Dash succeeding (beyond being a hired customer service rep to scroll newsgroups & respond to comments) then I welcome input on the issue.
My problem w/ the Dash is that it's too big to really be useful to people who move their GPS from one car to another. I have built in on my personal car, but use a rental 2-3 times per month & want something w/ a long battery life & very thin/small.
teasphere, we disagree with you on this and choose to be very active in both the blogosphere and online forums. We're happy to interact with customers and potential customers directly - answering questions and offering clarity where we can, plus taking great feedback to our product teams.
This doesn't affect me in any way, but I personally think it's great when people from companies interact with customers on blogs e.t.c. Sure beats not being able to get through to anyone on the phones and then get cut off when you do *CoughDellcough*
I think its refreshing :)
way to be a good consumer, teabags.
does anyone know if you can run other software on the dash unit yet? this is not a bad deal if it could be used as an openmoko development platform!
I suppose it's possible you could hack the device now by opening it, though we'll be providing USB drivers in conjunction with a large map update later this year. That'll allow easier access to the file system... But you didn't hear it from me. ;) DZ, Dash Nav
I have a Dash Express I'm using in a traffic survey in LA sponsored by Dash as I write this.
I also had a beta tester unit I used before the express came out to fix any bugs
and such before release. All I know is that the users in the current survey in LA want to
return the units as fast as they can before the survey is over. Here's why:
My impressions after months of use:
1 Unit is way too big. Including the mounting arm and the unit itself it's gigantic.
Barely fits in the middle of the dash board on a Nissan Sentra. It screams "I have
a GPS come rip it off." You have to dismantle the unit and the mounting arm every time
you leave your vehicle. It's about as portable as a ball and chain.
If Garmin and TomTom can make a unit with this stuff in it and make it 1/3
the size why not these jokers? Heck they put all this stuff in cellphones now.
2 Traffic updates are worthless. In LA it changes so fast I've been in standing traffic
in a jam and the unit is telling me it's all green and 65 MPH ahead. The live traffic
on my cell is way more accurate.
3 Routing is horrible, really bad and the maps are at least two years old.
I have streets that are 2 years old in my neighborhood and they don't even
show up at all. All kinds of crazy routes and most are wrong. I routed a trip
from LA to Las Vegas and the unit didn't even recognize that you could
go up the 14 to the 138 to the 15. It's like it didn't even exist.
4 While the internet connection is good to find things on Yahoo the service fees involved
aren't worth it.
Final impression: The dash express was DOA. While it would have been revolutionary
back in 2004 when it was designed it's been quickly passed up by other GPS makers and
the cellphone makers who've included all these features in their units now. Hell my Samsung Instinct
can do all the dash can do and a lot more with more accuracy and no cost and it's a freaking cellphone.
Is it worth $199? Not in my opinion and I have a free one I can use right now and it's sitting
in the box waiting for a return label from dash.
Do yourself a favor if you're looking for a GPS that works, is accurate, not the size of a shoebox
and you can customize the way you want it buy something else.
Completely agree with all of the above.
I was very excited about getting Dash. After using it I wish I could return it somewhere and get Nuvi.
Features are cool at first but maps, usability, traffic all are crap. Monthly fees for this are also rediculous.
I think ill just give it to a friend, advice him not to get service, and get Nuvi eventually.
@teasphere
Are you kidding me??? Participation in the blogs is EXACTLY the type of thing I want from companies.
I'm sorry but I'm not a good little American consumer, apparently this is somehow threatening to those that are. I prefer a company make a solid product and support it the best they can and let it stand or fall on its own merit. I don't need creepy paid shills lurking in every forum/blog ready to pounce on any negative post with corporate FUD. This article was nothing more than an advertisement for a poorly adopted device in an effort to clear some inventory on someones behalf, I couldn't care less if you think the Dave Zatz of the world are helpful or not... the real folks like Matt, Izzy, or Magic Fingers have made it pretty clear what the reality is.
@teasphere
I would agree with you there, but that's not what Mr. Zatz was doing .. yes he responded to criticism but he also disclosed who he was.
Of course all products should stand & fail by their merits (although, do you know of companies that make consumer products but don't advertise? the competitive real world requires it). But that doesn't mean a company should not respond to criticism and also make the product better by having conversations with users?
I bought one of these to replace an aging garmin GPS in July (w/ the update). The routing really needs improvement, i used it for commuting around Washington DC and its routes would regularly add 10-15 mins to a 40 minute commute (on a good day). It wouldn't use Connecticut Ave or River Road to get into the city from points north, when they are clearly good routes into the city. The live traffic is cool, but without quality routes I always found myself questioning if it was avoiding traffic or just making bad choices. It also drove me straight into serious traffic jams on a few occasions and when prompted for re-routes would keep me in the jam instead of exiting. However, if you just exited (randomly) it would sometimes find a good route around the traffic and back onto the route just past the jam. I returned the unit, but would reconsider if the future update addressed these issues.
Only one small problem.
They formed their business on a pay/month model. VERY FEW PEOPLE WANT TO PAY FOR TRAFFIC UPDATE. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Unless you are Rich, and have an accountant, that doesn't care paying for bazzillion of almost useless services from the small & "genius" companies.
I want one but I find myself driving less and less and when I do, my iPhone suffices. I'm going to buy a bike instead.
You're going to buy a bike instead of the Dash Express?
Not exactly a workaround.
I have two Dash Express, one Dash "Chocolate" and one Dash "Gray". A few on here and Dave Zatz will know the difference between the two. The latter was a Dash Express I bought.
I live in northern Virginia. I work in Washington, DC. I periodically drive to Baltimore (MD), Annapolis (MD), and Columbia (SC). I frequently drive around northern Virginia. Between my two Dash, I've probably driven over 7K mi.
My experiences with the Dash Express echo "Mr Fingers" above.
1. The Dash is larger/bulkier than any other GPS. Make your hand into a fist. This is about the same form-factor as the Dash Express, but smaller. The Dash Express is about the size of a softball. It's large enough to take up significant space when placed in your glove compartment, or be unwieldy if carried in your laptop bag.
2. It reboots often. I have seen it lock up on routes as I travel, requiring a 10-second depress of the power button. I have seen sporadic reboots for no apparent reason or when initially plugged in after being unplugged for a few hours.
3. The current location displayed on the map is not an accurate reflection of your current position. When travelling at posted speed limits, the Dash Express will lag by 20-50 feet. In areas of road construction, multiple exits, or cloverleafs, you will either need to anticipate your exit or be prepared to miss it if relying on the Dash Express to prompt you.
4. The routing is terrible. Out of the Garmin, Magellan, and Nokia Wayfinder GPSes I've used, Dash places dead last in routing.
The Dash Express will route you onto toll roads to travel up one exit rather than a side road that won't cost you a thing. The Dash has repeatedly cost me $3.35 to travel 6mi from my house to nearby appointments. I rely upon MapQuest and use my Dash Express as an alternate ("hot spare") when travelling around toll roads.
The Dash Express will provide you 1-3 routes as well as a "MyRoute" of routes you have taken that it has recorded. The Dash Express appears to prefer major roads, almost to the utter exclusion of secondary roads or quicker routes through neighborhood streets. The Dash Express routinely adds 10-30 minutes extra to any trip that would have been quicker through MapQuest or Garmin.
5. The Dash Express focuses on traffic networks and XML-based apps ("saved searches") to the detriment of basic GPS functionality such as routing or current location. I often refer to the Dash Express as a "GPS for people who know where they're going." The online searches using Yahoo are nice and the traffic has been semi-accurate for northern VA and DC, but routing me through the heart of DC during rush hour to drive from Annapolis, MD, to Fairfax, VA, added an extra hour to drive home.
I can't recommend the Dash Express in good faith to any customer. I truly wanted to give Dash the benefit of the doubt as a first-generation product, but it simply is not useable as a GPS that costs $299 as an entry point and charges upwards of $10/mo for service.
My wife and I are both very happy with our Dash. It's quirky but the live traffic works well (in Austin and Houston) and the yahoo search is far superior and more up to date than what is available elsewhere. Something that I think many overlook when criticizing the monthly fees is that you also get map updates as part of the service.
The customer service at Dash is also top notch. That may not matter for some, but it more than makes up for any small problems that we've had with the device.