That first traffic update was only the beginning -- Dash is announcing today its first proper software update to the Dash Express. Dubbed June08 (or v2.1), users now get three new trademarked names (among other things):

• FasterFind - uses SiRFInstantFix for acquiring GPS during startup, so your Dash Express is aware of its location much faster than before.
• MyRoute - your Dash Express learns your routes to common destinations and offers them up in comparison to its recommended routes (so you can see if your usual way really is faster).
• Search Along Route - pretty much what it says. Allows you to find points of interest en route without gumming up your destinations. This seems like the most useful new feature, behind the faster acquisition time.
• Road closure support - another self explanatory addition. If the Dash finds out a road is closed through Inrix or another means, it will completely black it out of your routes.
• Performance and UI enhancements - We gave it a short test, and things really did seem a bit snappier and cleaner looking. Icons are better polished, arranged, and rendered, and simple stuff like navigating menus or switching between 2D and 3D views is quicker.

Still no way to quickly bypass the route selection screen (which is one of our bigger pet peeves), but as it's populating you can now make your choice, which will save you a bit of extra time. It's available for download via your Dash's WiFi this morning, and is free for all users. Videos of MyRoute and Search Along Route after the break.

Looks like that sale at Amazon's turned into a full blown price cut -- Dash has officially lowered the price on the Dash Express from $400 to $300 (not including service, of course). Of course, this can be interpreted one of two ways: they're selling so well that economies of scale have kicked in, and everyone saves money buying the GPS -- or, the fresh-faced company's sole product isn't doing very well in the marketplace, leading to this second price drop so far. We're hope it's not the latter though, we're definitely stoked to see where else Dash can take us.

Update: Dash let us know that sales are meeting expectations, and they're capitalizing on the big uptick in new buyers during the last $300 price promotion. Good to know!

Update 2: Bonus! People who bought on or before May 31st are getting three free months of service. Thanks, Justin.

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment

The last Switched On discussed the traffic-fighting prowess of the Dash Express, now available for only $299. Its leading ad hoc local information querying and traffic-finding capabilities represent the best potential to transform the portable navigation device from a product used primarily for unfamiliar terrain, to an everyday tool to expedite getting to point B.

When it debuted online at Amazon, it shared prime real estate with another transparently-connected consumer electronics device: the Amazon Kindle. But besides their completely divergent uses, the Dash carries more than the weight of a couple of extra radios in its cranium. The unfortunate part of the Dash Express is that the device's unusual size takes up a good chunk of windshield real estate and, of course, serves as an even larger advertisement to thieves.

Dash has the ability to remotely kill stolen Dash Expresses, but there is still the risk of a break-in. In many ways, Dash's service is a better match for an in-dash navigation unit such as the Pioneer AVIC series, but these expensive devices represent a small fraction of the navigation aftermarket.

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment

What do you get when you cross a portable navigation device and a cellphone? Dash Navigation's answer is the $399 Dash Express, the most credible attempt yet to crack the ancient driver conundrum of figuring out what's nearby and the best way to get to it. In doing so, it stands to elevate the portable navigation device from a glove compartment shut-in to a mobile mentor -- one that Dash hopes that customers will find valuable enough to justify $10 (or more) per month on a service fees.

Dash's cellular connectivity enables it to take a hybrid approach to traffic information. Routes for which Dash has available information are marked with either green, yellow or red lines depending on the heaviness of the traffic. Solid lines indicate that the data has been supplemented by the Dash driver network – cars that have Dash units sending information upstream in real time. Dashed lines convey information that Dash picks up via its historical traffic pattern information provider Inrix. Dash claims that it needs about 1,000 units in most cities to cover major routes, double or triple that for the largest US cities such as New York or Los Angeles.

Even with its emerging network, the Dash Express is surprisingly effective at routing around known trouble spots on the fly. And while it occasionally failed to pick up on congested stretches, on several occasions it was so accurate as to the emergence of traffic that the route turned red just as conditions forced the car to slow to a crawl. Even at its early stage, Dash certainly proves the concept of the traffic-routing prowess of a "live" GPS device.

If you were looking to snag a Dash Express, perhaps saving a Benjamin could be the excuse you're looking for. We don't know if it's because these things aren't selling well or if there was just some kind of pricing error, but the Dash Express -- was originally set to debut at $600, but then dropped to $400 at release -- is now on Amazon for $300. (And yes, it's still going for $400 on Dash's own site.)

[Via Gear Diary]

No need worrying that as much as you'd like to change the Dash Express, you can't. Because you can, savvy? Announced today, Dash Navigation has cracked its platform open for third-party developers and simultaneously launched the industry's first dynamic API program at O'Reilly's Where 2.0 Conference. Dash is hoping that eager devs will spend time crafting DashApps, which would theoretically provide web-based content to consumers while still in the car. The outfit also took the wraps off of the first five partner-created applications, which give Express owners Coldwell Banker Home Search, myFUNAMBOL Calendar, BakTrax Radio, Trapster and MyWeatherBug buttons. Unfortunately, details beyond that were slim, but you certainly tag the read link to learn more about the aforesaid few that are already created.

To say we've been waiting far too long for the Dash Express to escape the labs and hit the shelves would be a gross understatement, but now that this connected navigator has taken to the streets, we're wondering if the public at large feels that it was worth the wait. During the time we spent with it on our escapades around the Windy City, we didn't find too many chinks in the armor, but for the price, we wouldn't be shocked to hear of people expecting more. So, is the Dash Express living up to your lofty expectations? Aside from rocking a discounted sticker, what else could be squeezed in here to make paying up sting a little less? The forum's yours, dear readers.

We've been waiting to get our hands on the Dash Express ever since we heard about it way back in 2006, and though we've seen a ton of photos and even toyed around with a beta version of the GPRS / WiFi-connected navigator, actually using the device for a lengthy period of time revealed some pretty interesting things. The main verdict: yeah, it's way pricey, but if you've got the scratch, this is the GPS you want -- and if the community features take off like Dash think they will, it's going to be a game-changer. Read on for the full review!

Not much has changed since we got to play with a beta version of the OpenMoko-powered Dash Express GPRS / WiFi-connected GPS unit, but the packaging is quite nice and the final hardware feels top-notch -- and there are some thoughtful details like a separate cradle power connection so you can just grab and go when you get to your destination.

We've been drooling over the GPRS-enabled, OpenMoko-powered Dash Express for what seems like forever now, but it's finally shipping -- and what's even better, the price has dropped $200 to $399. Pre-order customers can expect a note from Dash alerting them to a refund of the difference sometime soon, while the rest of us can take ol' Benjamin and his three best friends over to Amazon, which is the exclusive retailer for the next 30 days. Unfortunately, the monthly services fees are still kind of high: although you can still use the device as a regular GPS unit after the initial three-month grace period, if you buy the premium service you'll be out $13 a month, or $10 if you sign a two-year deal -- but hey, that's the price you pay to be on the front lines of the revolution, right?

Just a quick word out there to Dash Express early adopters (and anyone else considering the new GPS system), units are shipping a little later than expected. Specifically, they'll be going on March 27th to pre-order customers, so keep an eye on that mailbox next month.

We're already pretty high on the Dash Express, but the company sweetened the pot a little this morning by announcing that the unit is based on OpenMoko's Neo open-source hardware platform. The Dash Express is first commercial product to use the OpenMoko GT0X reference platform, which is an updated version of the hardware in OpenMoko's open-source Neo 1973 mobile phone. As you'd expect, the Dash Express also uses OpenMoko's Linux bootloader and kernel, but the Dash GPS software itself is apparently still proprietary. The love doesn't stop there, either: OpenMoko and parent company FIC Mobility actually helped design the Dash Express hardware, and FIC is going to handle manufacturing as well. All in all, a pretty solid win for the OpenMoko / Neo system -- let's hope it's a sign of even more good things to come.

We recently got to take a Dash Express beta unit for a spin, and while they're still gluing all the software together behind the scenes in anticipation of launch, we did spot the makings of a few obvious and ridiculously useful features new users can expect in February. Besides the stuff we've already heard about (like sending addresses and geo-RSS feeds via WiFi and cellular, or local Zillow property values), the Dash Express has some other tricks up its sleeve, like:

• The ability to display current local gas prices in its gas station search!
  
• Local theaters show movies and showtimes (although you can't order tickets through the Dash Express -- yet).
• Yahoo Local searches show aggregate user ratings.
• Over the air updates via cellular data. (We're not yet sure what happens if you opt out of service -- we'd guess you'll just have to use the old USB cable or WiFi.)
• And, of course, there's the traffic data, which not only shows which local roads with traffic data from real time and historic Dash GPS users but also uses Inrix traffic feeds.
• And just so you know whether the system is or isn't too sure about its traffic predictions, the Dash Express also gauges its "confidence" with dashed and solid lines -- see above. (Of course, it also plots routes predicted by ETA and traffic flow, and not necessarily just by distance.)

Compared to your usual, run of the mill GPS, whole connected navigator experience was not dissimilar from the jump between going from a VCR to a TiVo -- which is why we think maybe, just maybe, people might actually want to pay for service with this thing. Of course, the downside for dash is most people won't even realize what an amazing boon these kinds of features really are until they've taken one home and discovered it first hand out in the world. (Oh, videos after the break.)

The final pieces are falling into place for Dash, which finished with the Dash Express public beta and finally has a price for the unit and service. Prepared to plunk down $600 for the device and three months of service, and $13 per month thereafter? (That's month to month, or you can do $11 per month for a year, or $10 per month for two.) If not, well, you can still just buy the device without the service; either way expect it in black and in February.

Geo-caching and maps mashup nerds: sit up and take notice. The connected GPS hardware startup -- fresh off its redesign and FCC approval -- is coming clean some new geo-feeds integration, which will allow the device to pull up custom geoRSS / KML feeds of user-generated points of interest over its cellular connection, as well as provide integration with certain open-API geo-services like Zillow (which allows you to check the property value of homes in the area -- or on the street -- you and your Dash are in). It's a slightly mind-bending paradigm shift from the static-database-on-your-GPS points of interest usage model we're all used to, so think about it this way: if your standard POIs are now handled dynamically through Yahoo search on the Dash, consider geo-feeds a user-generated extension of that, giving you and your Dash the ability to locate destinations based on the input of online communities.