In March, Dash released 4 software upgrades that provided dramatic feature and performance improvements. The idea that continual software updates can and will be provided over the air, along with the Yahoo search function, is what drove me to buy the Dash. I am very pleased with the overall performance and more pleased that continual software development will fix issues as they arise.

As the network of Dash users expands, the traffic data should get very robust and this is a very useful tool when traveling outside of your home turf (as I often do).

I highly recommend the Dash to anyone in the market for a PND, and when you do buy one, be ready to be amazed at the customer service from Dash...worth the price of admission all by itself.

inspectorgadget420

robertjensen

rospaya

frigg

twistyaction

dburr10085

Ultimately, a year's worth of service is at the lower end of what you'd pay for a map update for any other GPS, and you don't have to wait a year for these updates to come out, or plug in to a computer to get them. They are automatic and real-time. Plus, you get the traffic. Overall, I think this is a bargain in the GPS space.

tharrick

tharrick

Even TiVo canceled their lifetime plan for about two years, because it didn't make them money. They have brought it back, but with a higher cost and greater limitations.

However, if Dash decides it's in their interest to initiate a lifetime plan, I would probably do it.

ackthbbft

Some of us just won't get caught up in monthly commitments, nor a mere year or two, and we would rather pay a lump sum upfront. As the economy continues to sour and Dash struggles to gain market share from broke consumers who already own GPS' (and have a million subscriptions), I'm hoping they will offer a lifetime service plan for the device.

Just a stupid consumer here.

Amiga

@frigg: Customer privacy is a big concern for us, so we strip out all identifying information before we receive the traffic information. We couldn't track you even if we wanted to.

@afreemaniii: For competitive reasons (as I'm sure you can imagine), we don't share the number of customers in each metro area. However, we are certainly working on ways to communicate the coverage of the Dash Driver Network to potential customers.

@B1663R: No Canada right now, but rest assured that our friends up north are certainly in our plans.

@ackthbbft: I believe that shipments were sent signature required, and I know quite a few customers who got the message "No one to sign. Shipment returned to Dist Center. Try delivery again." But if UPS did leave it at your door, I too hope that it is there!

DashBrandon

Of course, this wouldn't have been an issue at all had they used FedEx. Even if I wasn't home, I could pick it up at the FedEx office after 5pm.

ackthbbft

markgm

I really hope it is still there when I get home. I'm not very happy that it was not sent "signature required", nor do I recall the option when I ordered it at CES from your VP of Sales.

Now I may have to drive 40 miles out of my way at lunchtime and rush home to see if it's there.

My excitement has turned to anxiety!

ackthbbft

PiNPOiNT

[www.gpsreview.net]

PiNPOiNT

But....The single biggest problem for me is the subscription fee. Garmin/Tom-Tom: none of the fancy stuff, but no monthly fee (unless you pay for their traffic update services of course).

And I have a hard and fast rule: avoid recurring fees at all costs if at all possible. Save for car/house/retirement/kids tuition instead (and youd be surprised how much better Im doing bc of this)

Oh, How I long for the day that the internet is always on, and free. That day shall come eventually. I hope. I mean, it better!

In the mean time, carry on Dash!

jaydoubleu

keithhat

if so, i am sooooo down with the dash. let me know when it's coming up north ok?

B1663R

afreemaniii

Cool product, and I'm particularly interested in what the device will turn into in the future as it only gets smarter and smarter.

One thing I'm wondering about is privacy. What is the relationship between individual devices and your servers, and would someone be able to track an individual driver, even theoretically? Is information broadcast by individual devices uniquely tagged? If Bruce Wayne had a Dash Express, would an intern working at your company be the first to realize he was secretly Batman?

frigg

@h00ligan - the shape is largely a product of the 3 radios we have in the device: GPS, Cellular, and WiFi. The WiFi is a high gain antenna that can connect to a access point from FAR away. That is what is driving the shape of the device.

@deathrackeking - I used to live up in Seattle, so I am familiar with the area. Anyway, we don't have any "fleet specific" features yet like the one you are specifically looking for. But this type of feature is something on our road map.

@DaveTyranham - I think one thing I would add to Brian's response is that we are designed for every day use. So if you have a commute and you want to know what traffic is like on the 2 or 3 options you have to get to work, we can tell you which way to go. This is in addition to having the ability to route you to any new location as well.

@adam_h - We have a SIM card embedded in the device, so you don't have to do anything to get things up and running. We provision it against the network and your free 3 month trial automatically starts.

@blackbird001 - as of now that is not on our road map.

@gibson042 - Thanks!

@MasterShake - we are familiar with the numerous roads in the DC area that have interesting time based restrictions, like Clara Barton. Since we are focused on the commuter market, we assume that locals have a decent understanding of the restrictions in the area. For example, this means that we will route you onto Clara Barton and we expect you have an understanding of the restrictions of the road. We won't proactively route people onto HOV lanes that are separated from the main road, since we aren't certain if a user is in a state that they can drive in an HOV lane. Having said that, once you get into an HOV lane we won't route you out of it.

@jwardell - We are actively looking at "search along my route" functionality, so this is something that will come in the future. We currently don't have all the routing / detour features that the competition has, but these will come over time. In terms of "auto turn on", we turn on the unit when your car is started, and turn it off when your car is shut off... pretty simple. We have a real light sensor in the device, in addition to automatic day/night mode switching. Sorry the lack of BT and way points are deal killers for you, hopefully when we add those later you will consider us.

@detach - glad you appreciate the effort... and if any of my comments above are stupid or have typos please assume it is b/c I have had only about 3 hours of sleep :)

dash_mark

SpacemanSpiff

fastm3driver

FuzzysFriedChicken

You, sir, just sold a customer. If Dash is willing to have someone monitor blogs to help answer questions about their product I am willing to buy from them. It is the little things that push me off the fence

detach

markgm

Can you tell it to detour, or more specifically roadblock a certain road? A feature my TomTom had and sorely missed on my garmin.

Can you disable auto turn on?
Does it have a real light sensor for brightness or just a next-to-useless sunrise/sunset dimming function?

Sadly the lack of multiple/inserting destinations, and bluetooth handsfree are deal killers.

Lets hope more of this stuff is added in software updates soon. I was determined to buy a dash over a year ago, but it just took too long. Broke down and replaced my aging tomtom with a garmin. But the dash has huge growing potential...perhaps they will still get my business later this year.

jwardell

MasterShake

gibson042

rbf2000

I want to add a receiver/transmitter to my mobile pc (via usb or card) and install the software so its integrated into my dashboard.

blackbird001

a) GPRS connectivity implies that you need some sort of data connection -- do you have to tether your phone to the unit / swap your sim card in and out?

b) When will it be available in Canada?

adam_h

You might want to pass if you don't need anything but a basic navigator that is very polished. (Garmin.)

But these things are priced well now, and I like the idea of the platform growing.

Brian Lam

awesomerobot

MickeyMoo

I'm all for gadgets, but GPS devices are all about the User Interface. TomTom and Garmin both seem to have a lot of the kinks worked out.

DaveTyranham

rospaya

deathraceking

h00ligan

Mike918

ManoloDF

Brian Lam

SuperCollider

SuperCollider

Mark

dash_mark

Evangelion