The Dash Express is an internet-connected GPS for your car. The image above shows off the results of their redesign. It is going to be coming out later this year (sorry, initially US-only).
The GPS unit has generated excitement due to its internet-based features. With it you can search Yahoo! Local from the road, send the unit an address from the browser, and get alternate routes based on other Dash user’s traffic experiences. Dash showed the original device at Where 2.0 and have since re-designed the unit making it smaller, lighter, and with a 2-hour battery life. They also added a larger screen, removed the side buttons, added new map views and an improved menu system.
At the beginning of the summer they gave out 2000 units in a large hardware Beta (Radar post). On Sunday they announced the results of the Beta and some of the learnings.
Device usage
1,229,598 miles driven by testers*; 43,000 hours logged*
80% of testers turn on their Dash device every time they get in the car**
Yahoo Local! search
More than 119,000 searches conducted*
Active testers average 1.62 searches per day*
Most popular searches –food and retail locations by far
Send to Car
Nearly 10,000 Send to Cars conducted*
Real-time traffic
Nearly 2/3 of testers said they check traffic conditions every or most of the time before they drive
(All numbers as of 9/11/07)
I’ve been using one for a while and though I cannot comment about it specifically I will say that I can’t wait for the final device to come out. The numbers above definitely reflect my own usage. If I was leaving my neighborhood I would turn it on. I generally conducted a search or two per trip and I sent a ton of addresses The Dash made it easier to react to traffic backup or a hotel being full. Having internet-access in the car is something that I have wanted for a while and I am looking forward to the new device.