Dash rewriting the rules for GPS navigation
Dash is making waves in the GPS world today with some news about the capabilities of the upcoming Dash Express.
First, straight from the Dash blog, Points of Interest. Dash execs presented at the Web 2.0 conference this morning, revealing that Dash will support API integration with Upcoming.org and Zillow. They will also support GeoRSS and KML, effectively allowing access to user-generated online content while on the road.
Wow! Connectvity really is going to change things. Garmin’s going to have to give us more than MSN Direct to keep up with Dash.
The other news today is from a story in the New York Times that has positive reports from a hands-on demonstration. I found two points especially interesting. First, that travel time is estimated on the basis of three factors — INRIX data, anonymous data from other Dash users, and your historical personal driving habits. I’ve often wondered how long it would be before we had a smart GPS that would do the latter.
The other interesting point…
The network is what really distinguishes Dash from its competitors, but it can also be seen as its Achilles’ heel because the real benefit of the system isn’t apparent until enough units are collecting data.
“We started seeing that data becomes material with several hundred units in an area,”…To really become effective….the number would need to be in the low thousands. In the meantime…“it should never be any worse than the other guys.”
The latter statement should help alleviate the fears of prospective Dash buyers.
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