First GPS Wireless Update Announced

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 6/30/2008 2:22:00 PM

Sunnyvale, Calif. — Dash Navigation, maker of the first two-way, always-on, Internet-connected portable GPS device, said it completed the first over-the-air update of a GPS device.

Dash Navigation said owners of the Dash Express received an update via Wi-Fi to help drivers determine the best route option and to shorten the time it takes for the GPS unit to find satellite signals. Dash said it was the first GPS provider to wirelessly update GPS devices in the field without requiring users purchase a DVD or install updates from a PC.

The new Dash update allows the Dash Express to memorize routes the user often takes; when the driver looks for the fastest route to a particular destination, it lists the traffic on the favorite route compared with other routes. It also has a feature that looks for points of interest along one’s route path.

The update also increases the speed at which the Dash Express draws its maps by more than 50 percent, and it speeds up the time it takes to gain a satellite fix.

Dash also announced that it has attracted more than 30 new applications from its software developer program launched in May. The applications include the ability to import weather listings, Twitter and garage sale listings to the car,

One new developer is EveryBlock, which collects and publishes neighborhood news (down to a block level) in cities, including Chicago, New York and San Francisco. With the EveryBlock DashApp, drivers can access a "neighborhood feed," including public records (e.g., crimes, restaurant inspections, building permits), and user-contributed knowledge (e.g., local photos posted to Flickr), that is filtered geographically according to the vehicle's current location, Dash said.