Dash - the web connected GPS
Dash (www.Dash.net) is a new GPS device/service that boasts a connection to the web and other cars… not to browse news, but to report and exchange traffic flow data. It can steer you around traffic that slows other Dash users, rerouting you around it. Your speed and route are shared with other users, so if you have low traffic, others will follow you. 
They even have several years worth of traffic history for major cities by day, to help predict movement even if there are no other Dash users nearby. Interesting stuff. Here’s a graphical overview of how it works.
They also feature the abillity to email addresses to your GPS from any standard email application. It seems they also use some fancy matching (menu items in this case) and metadata info via the web to help match you with local searches. The example they use is that you can type in “fajitas” and it can match you with restaraunts that serve them, if it’s not in the name. Interesting, I wonder how much of a shop’s merchandise it will search? Like if it will work for most all of the menu or just the featured items? What about “diapers” or “BBQ grills?”
I signed up for Dash’s Beta Program, they recruited over 2,000 users to test out the internet connected GPS for their pre-launch beta program. I didn’t get in, but it’s a great way to get the word out and build some buzz for their new products.
I’m looking forward to how this will smooth traffic negotiation for many in high-traffic cities. Do you have one? Drop us a line, we’d love to hear about it!
