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Is Dash Express dead? And if so, how will you know where to find the cheapest gas?
Well, kids, we had a good run. According to an anonymous tipster (and apparent Dash Express user), Dash Navigation shot out an email last night saying that service and support for Dash Express will be discontinued as of June 30, with no new subscriptions available after today. If you went for contract service (as opposed to the ol' month-by-month) you should receive a check pro-rated for your outstanding balance at some point. But then again, if that is the case, you probably received the email as well. Unless, of course, this is all a big hoax -- one that is targeted at an extremely small segment of the population and which will, ultimately effect no one. But that doesn't seem likely, does it? The company offices don't open for a couple hours yet (we know, we called) so we'll tell you if anything changes. Until then, you can read the aforementioned email after the break.
RIM buys Dash Navigation
Remember Dash? The upstart connected GPS maker who put out the much-loved Dash Express but didn't realize people didn't want to pay a monthly fee for GPS services and eventually folded in on itself? Well yeah -- they've just been snapped up by RIM, presumably meaning we'll see some nifty new online GPS action in future BlackBerrys. Terms of the deal aren't yet known, but we're eager to see how RIM plays with this with its carrier partners, most of whom charge extra fees for GPS features.[Via Phone Scoop]
Dash opens platform up for third-party developers
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.
Dash Express redesigned for Q1 2008 launch
More than a year after its initial tease, the Dash Express receives a much needed makeover in preparation for its overdue commercial outing. The WiFi, cellular, and GPS packing navigator with two-way traffic updates and travel-time forecasting now features a larger 4.3-inch display, louder speaker, beefier internal battery, and power connector on the dash mount instead of the navigator. They've also axed the button clutter up front by introducing a pair of touch-sensitive buttons along top: one makes a volume button appear on the touchscreen while the other brings up the menu. Although well behind their initial launch projection, the fact that they have the time to fine-tune the design is a pretty good sign that a revised Q1 2008 launch date is in the bag.[Via x64bit, thanks Dave]Read -- new design Read -- new date
Dash Express connected GPS public beta test at the starting line
So Dash Navigation is officially announcing its public beta program (aka Dash National Road Test) of the Dash Express connected GPS nav unit. Having cruised around the SF bay area for the last six months, Dash apparently decided it was time to open the doors to 2000 early adopters who want to get their hands dirty with pre-release hardware that doesn't just do GPS, but also gets real time traffic updates and attempts accurate transit time predictions. Dash estimates any major metropolitan area needs between one and two thousand connected cars to produce enough traffic data to accurately predict congestion, but until the launch goes big early users will just have to settle with the other niceties like Yahoo Local search and the ability to easily load up the unit with destinations and the like via its data connection. Good luck getting your unit, and be sure to report back to us here on whether you think Dash is headed in the right direction, would you?
Dash adds Yahoo! local search to GPS
Upstart Dash Navigation announced today that it's signed up Yahoo! as a partner for its forthcoming Dash Express GPS unit/service, with the company set to provide its Yahoo! Local service for some location-sensitive car-based searching. For those not up to speed, Dash is aiming to bolster the humble GPS navigation unit by pooling the collective awareness of all Dash users on the road, wirelessly transmitting traffic information back and forth in real time to provide up-to-date road conditions (for a more detailed Dash primer, you may want to take a gander at our own Ross Rubin's two recent columns on the company's plans). The addition of Yahoo! Local looks to further round out the company's offerings, letting drivers search for nearby business or products, as well as get restaurant ratings and other information, along with the ability to redirect their route to any given destination at the push of a button. Dash itself is apparently still on track for a launch in California this spring, with a nationwide roll-out to follow later in the fall.
Dash Navigation's Dash Express
It's a GPS device; no, it's a WiFi enabled; no, it's a cellular device; wrong again, it's all three. It's Dash Navigation's Dash Express, the new dynamic GPS system which goes beyond today's rudimentary XM and FM traffic datacasting and gets to the nitty gritty. Not only is it able to pull locations you email to Dash Express so you don't have to type or (shudder) speak it, this GPS device also updates current road conditions on the fly based on the speed and locations of other Dash Express users as well as historical traffic data (all of which will be supposedly kept safely anonymous); the device paired with the service will supposedly automagically route you around the next car cluster faster than you can scream at the top of your lungs, "WHO TAUGHT YOU TO DRIVE, SCUMBAG!" Price is yet unknown (as well was whether there will be a monthly service fee -- which we can assume there will be), but apparently this DEMOfall debuter will be ready to ride for Californians in early 2007.[Thanks, Josh J.]
Dash Navigation launching secret consumer product
Silicon Valley start-up Dash Navigation has taken a few of the wraps off its super-secret in-car navigation system, also called Dash, although it looks like we're gonna have to wait 'till the DEMOfall Conference next month to get all the deets. The product that Dash says will do for driving "what TV did for entertainment" and "what the cellphone did for communication" is actually an Internet-connected in-car navigation system that can also communicate with other devices on the road to relay real-time traffic information -- exactly how it does all that is still a bit unclear. According to Dash CEO Paul Lego, it won't let you do things like check your email or browse the web (at least not yet), instead employing what he calls a "55 mph user interface" so you can keep your eyes on the road (they're still perfecting the I Can't Drive 55 interface).[Via CrunchGear]
