Gadget junkie alert - internet connected GPS

[Longsnowsm]

Ok, I admit it I am a techie toy junkie, but over the years I have kind of gotten tired of piles of fairly inconvenient or borderline useless gadgets piling up that seemed like a good idea at the time.

Well I have been looking at GPS units recently, and thinking how neat some of the new GPS units are, but also how annoying a lot of them are. Getting map updates, software updates, downloading my tracks and routes. It isn't overly convenient, but I do like some of the features such as real time traffic data, and weather info. But I have noticed that a lot of this info is limited in availability to areas that are covered by certain FM radio bands. Some of the features seem cool if the units were connected to the internet so that you could lookup specific information or get more data. Then there is the cost. Some of these are not just expensive, but really expensive.

Well I thought that I could possibly cheap seats and do an end run around this mess by getting a smart phone with the GPS and all the bells and whistles. Great I thought, everything in one unit and with a data plan internet too... Just one problem. You can't hardly use the dang thing when driving down the road that that pretty much rules out this being worth while for it's intended purpose. The interface isn't designed for looking at it at a glance and getting the info you need.

Well I was listening to a podcast today called TWIT(This Week In Tech) from a couple months back as I had fallen behind listening to this show. They mentioned something that everyone just loved and that is rare for the panel to unanimously agree on anything. It is this new GPS unit called the Dash. Dash appears to do everything that a normal GPS does with turn by turn directions and all of that, but it is connected to the internet via both Wifi and cell phone for real time data. It automatically updates maps, and data. It has a database that reflect speed traps, and red light cameras. The units apparently even send back anonymous data about your travel to let other Dash users know the road conditions as far as speed and traffic congestion. The internet connection also has built in search functions so that you can lookup a phone number, find the nearest food, or lookup anything specific your interested in. Overall it just sounds very cool and appears to put most of the common things that come up that you want to lookup or do at your fingers.

So has anyone else seen one of these, have one, or use one? They say the unit costs $399, and the cell phone subscription costs like $10 or $12 a month to stay connected. Map updates are done over the internet and are free.

The price looks good, and frankly most of the features that I really want sound like they are built into this thing. So I would love to hear from owners of this GPS.

Here are some links about it:
http://www.boston.com/business/techn...ctions/?page=1

http://www.dash.net/

I have been the guinea pig in the past, but if I can find someone who has already tried this and says it is a good fit for OTR that would be awesome.

Longsnowsm

[bigtimba]

I've been running DeLorme Street Atlas USA with GPS on a laptop a little over 4 years. I have upgraded everything at least a couple of times. I'm so used to having them running and I'm very pleased with the results.

The greatest benefit of this arrangement is real time maps on the laptop's 17" monitor bungied into the passenger seat. I can view it at a glance without having to squint or refocus.

I have never used a stand alone GPS, like a Tom Tom, etc, I have heard the screens can be hard to read or interpurt under the best of circumstances and impossible all too often. You may have heard NO GPS is 100% reliable. I like to "trust but verify" by looking at the map before I let the turn by turn voice prompts send me to the gates of hell.

As for real time traffic, I can't see where that's really going to do much good. I can think of a bazillion times someone has said "You'll be just fine if you can get off at exit . . " . . . the one behind me.

My big upgrade this year has been the addition of a Sprint air card, $150, or so and $60/mo for unlimited access. The aircard includes a GPS feature I haven't even begun to explore. If you like to use the endless resources of the internet, this thing is priceless. I spent Saturday night in one of the (breath taking) view areas along the San Rafael Swell. I was able to post to this site (CAD)while walking around and taking in the view as the sun was going down.

I didn't look at the links you provided but I will look back at this thread to see if anyone has anything good to say about them.

[Longsnowsm]

Thanks for the input on the Delorme. I currently have both a Garmin GPS and I have Microsoft Streets and Trips on my laptop. I was looking at a new GPS in the hopes that I could get some of the new features, and possibly they would be a little more user friendly. I am kind of hoping that we will see more of these devices that combine the best features of the computer with the best features of the navigation stuff into one appliance type thing that is always just right there handy. That is why I became more interested in this. My Garmin I find I use more than my computer when driving down the road with the navigation features. I find the Garmin isn't all that handy to enter in addresses and that sort of thing and becomes frustrating and a pain. That send to the dash feature right from my computer looks way too cool on the Dash and would save a lot of time and hassle. So no more fumbling around trying to enter stuff on the GPS itself. So I am looking for a hybrid that can give the best of both tools in one.

I hopped out on Amazon and read some reviews there, and watched the couple of videos. The promos and professional reviewers seem to give it good marks, but real people who bought the unit seemed to be mixed in their reviews. Looks like the product is still pretty new and that there are still bugs to be worked out of it. It looks like with the frequent updates that these should get pushed out to the unit as soon as they are released and I would assume that these problems that get reported should get addressed. So it doesn't look like anyone who has one of these is stuck with it as it is out of the box.

It would appear that anyone who buys one of these is officially in the early adopter stage and will have to be willing to be on the bleeding edge and put up with some growing pains. The unit even has a bug report feature when something mis-behaves that you click on the bug report and it is mailed to you so you can fill it out in as much detail as possible and then send it to the company to address. So it looks like they are serious about improvements. If people will take the time to submit problems as they come up then most likely those areas will get fixed.

The other thing that was interesting to read about is that they appear to have just opened up the software and API's so that anyone can write applications for this product so that other features and abilities can be added. So that sound really interesting also. It sounds like this machine is built on Open Source software so if they actually open it up for the development community some really cool things can and probably will come from this product in new abilities and functions.

So overall if your a gadget junkie like me this might be something to check out. Walt Mossberg on the Amazon video called it a game changer. I think I will have to see it for myself. The price actually appears to have dropped to $299. For that I may have to try it out for myself and see just how it works. Overall it looks like it has some rough edges. Hey, whats one more mostly useless thing in the techie junk pile? LOL

Oh, and if I don't post again... You know I ordered one and the wife unit killed me :shock:

Longsnowsm

[mike3fan]

I have been thinking of buying a stand alone GPS unit for a while now,I think I am gonna try this unit......more to follow

edit: bought today $379 shipped 2nd day,with a 2nd car kit....more later

[Longsnowsm]

I did the same thing and placed an order for a Dash. After giving it some thought I took the plunge and decided to give it a try. As long as it is reasonably good for a new technology and usable the I will give it a shot and give them time to fix and enhance the product.

I think it would be cool if they added an interface for connecting to your in vehicle audio. Then offer something like Last.fm or something like that where you have streaming audio or internet radio. There are a lot of possibilities for this device. I also will follow-up to let everyone know how well it works and general impressions. Should be fun!

Longsnowsm

[BigWheels]

Oh, and if I don't post again... You know I ordered one and the wife unit killed me :shock:

Longsnowsm

...I did the same thing and placed an order....Should be fun!

Longsnowsm

Should we start praying?

[mike3fan]

another review with lots of pics

http://www.product-reviews.net/2008/...and-interface/

[GTR SILVER]

what about this...........>>>>>> http://www.teletype.com/Merchant2/me..._Code=WorldNav

[Malaki86]

what about this...........>>>>>> http://www.teletype.com/Merchant2/me..._Code=WorldNav

I've heard of people having a lot of problems with that unit on XM ch 171.

[hamboner]

I have seen that teletype unit advertised a couple of times and figured that it must not be that great since I haven't heard that many ppl raving about it. The Dash unit on the other hand looks awesome! Im very impressed with the features and abilities of that unit!

I currently have a tom-tom that is about 2 years old. I purchased it for my job when I was a telecommunications tech. and always traveling to unfamiliar areas. To this day, I honestly don't think I would have lasted as long as I did in that industry without it.

With the number of truckers on the road these days you think it would be quite lucrative for someone to come out with a top-notch, dependable unit. I know too many truckers myself that want a unit that is dedicated to the trucker. My guess is that it is only a matter of time before someone fills this demand.

[Longsnowsm]

I am pretty surprised myself that there isn't an entire market segment dedicated to trucking and anything transportation wise. I am hoping that we can provide some input with this startup company making the Dash Express regarding trucking, what truckers want, need, and would like to see. They have a feature called My Dash where they have a community section for sharing searches and things that looks pretty cool. I am hoping we can possibly get a trucking section in the community. Here is a cool video demonstrating some of the sharing features:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWVJElDBmO0&NR=1

I have been reading everything I can find on the Dash Express. It sounds like it may have some rough edges and growing pains being a 1.0 type product, but should be able to fix/upgrade itself off the internet as new features are released, maps and software get updated. I hear that their first major firmware release updating the product since it started shipping is suppose to happen on Jun 30th. So that should be the acid test for the support and evolution of this product.

I am pretty excited to see what it can do. I can hardly wait for mine to get here so I can start playing with it. If you get the chance to check out some of the YouTube videos it really looks like a lot of fun!

For those who are not sure what we are talking about, here are some intro videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBQ_E...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bs0b...eature=related

Search features:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WSvX...p;feature=user

Longsnowsm

[zipy46]

what about this...........>>>>>> http://www.teletype.com/Merchant2/me..._Code=WorldNav

I've heard of people having a lot of problems with that unit on XM ch 171.

Wow...

Thats a nice device,

maybe they will work out the bugs , I would buy it

[mike3fan]

I have been reading everything I can find on the Dash Express.

Yeah me too,my unit is comig today,but I am not sure when I will be able toget home to get it

I have joined a yahoo user group called "dash navigation",check it out.

[Longsnowsm]

Just a quick update. The promised software update to the Dash Express was posted today. It looks like they are taking requests that people have provided and are adding those enhancements. They updated many of the units capabilities, and added a bunch of new features such as My Route, and a feature called Search Along Route. Faster screen updates, and faster GPS location features. All very cool stuff. You can see some of the new features mentioned on the Dash Blog. Check out some of the new features and capabilties that can be downloaded to this GPS over the Wifi connection.

http://blog.dash.net/

My unit has shipped from Amazon, but has not arrived yet. I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival and getting this thing updated to the newest software build. No more dead end technology, and this unit appears to learn as you use it. I can hardly wait for my new toy to arrive.

It looks like this company is interested in what people want. So if professional drivers make their needs known this company may be willing to taylor tools, and functions to suite the truck drivers needs. Just a thought.

Longsnowsm

[Longsnowsm]

Well the new GPS arrived and I had a chance to play with it a bit. Here are my initial impressions of this tool/toy:

The box, packaging, and information that comes with the unit is all first rate. The unit and mount feels rugged and looks good. Very nice package. It comes with the wall plug, 12v plug, suction mount arm, GPS, literature, and activation card.

Power on of the GPS does take a little longer than my Garmin. The screens seem very straight forward and easy to use. Everything is basically touch screen. Navigation seems pretty straight forward with large touch screen buttons. Overall the interface seems pretty well done for someone to use while on the road.

On first power up the unit knew about updates being available and prompted me to install it. It seemed to do this a couple of times as if one update made the unit eligible for the next update or something. I didn't try the unit out without the updates so I cannot say how it behaved prior to the updates. I plugged in my WPA key for my wifi and the downoads proceeded quickly. I figured out how to login to the my.dash.net and add some addresses, favorites, and the send2car function for sending things directly to the GPS. It does this almost instantly and is very impressive. You get the notification on the screen right away when you push send. Also the ability to do a search, save it, and then send that search criteria to the screen also very slick.

I find the maps to be rather basic and not as detailed as my Garmin maps. The initial routes that the unit offered showed me a couple of routes. I am familiar with the area so both routes were reasonable, and the primary one is the route I would have normally taken. It showed me the traffic status on both routes, and the estimated time for each route. So I took my normal route which indicated the route was clear and all green. So off I went. I found that a few miles from my departure I ran into slow traffic moving along at 30- 50 mph. This should have been reflected in yellow on the map, but was not. This only lasted a minute or two, so I don't know what the criteria is for something to be shown as slowing or slower traffic.

The next thing I noted was that the unit tends to route almost everything via the highway. I have not found an option like my Garmin which lets me decide shortest vs fastest. I did not experience any delays in routing or screen updates that I have read on the forum, but my route for this maiden voyage was pretty basic.

Overall my initial impressions of the unit are mixed. The connectivity, searching, favorites etc are good. Two thumbs up. The maps however need some work. The maps in areas seem basic and lack details that I know are there such as some small side roads, railroads etc. I don't know if it was that I wasn't zoomed in far enough to see some of those details or if they just aren't there so take what I am saying with a grain of salt. The routing I believe could be enhanced to offer more complex options. I get the feeling that the Dash primarily only wants to route along routes that it has data for as far as traffic is concerned, but it should offer other routes as well and just indicate that it does not know the traffic condition for that route. Dash has indicated on their forum that the maps will be updated at least twice a year. The software updates sound like they will be frequent at this early stage of the products deployment.

So I think at this point I can recommend this to early adopters and those who think this tool can help. I have to admit that the ability to send destinations, and searches from my computer to the GPS with a couple of clicks is very nice. However for those that get annoyed by the work in progress type things I notes should probably wait until later this year. I think by the end of the year there will be at least a couple more updates to the units and most likely a lot of the big things that people are seeing will be ironed out.

This tool looks like it is going to be a big shift in the way navigation devices work going forward. Since this was my maiden trip out with the unit I will try to note the other observations as I get more time with it. I think this could be a very valuable tool for professional drivers given a little more product maturity. So it should be fun to see what happens from here.

For the time being I will be keeping both the Garmin and the Dash Express out on my dash until I feel comfortable that the info I am getting is solid from the Dash Express. So far it is promising.

Longsnowsm

[zipy46]

Got me a Garmin Nuvi 200

Cool Gadget

It pretty much will route me on the HHG that my company pays.

(just have to look at its itinerary and make sure its not sending under a low bridge)

So far...so good

:mrgreen:

[Malaki86]

I bought a Nuvi 200w (widescreen) for my POV. I just couldn't stand driving anywhere without a GPS. The Garmin is a really nice little unit.