Ok, I admit it I am a techie toy junkie, but over the years I have kind of gotten tired of piles of fairly inconvenient or borderline useless gadgets piling up that seemed like a good idea at the time.

Well I have been looking at GPS units recently, and thinking how neat some of the new GPS units are, but also how annoying a lot of them are. Getting map updates, software updates, downloading my tracks and routes. It isn't overly convenient, but I do like some of the features such as real time traffic data, and weather info. But I have noticed that a lot of this info is limited in availability to areas that are covered by certain FM radio bands. Some of the features seem cool if the units were connected to the internet so that you could lookup specific information or get more data. Then there is the cost. Some of these are not just expensive, but really expensive.

Well I thought that I could possibly cheap seats and do an end run around this mess by getting a smart phone with the GPS and all the bells and whistles. Great I thought, everything in one unit and with a data plan internet too... Just one problem. You can't hardly use the dang thing when driving down the road that that pretty much rules out this being worth while for it's intended purpose. The interface isn't designed for looking at it at a glance and getting the info you need.

Well I was listening to a podcast today called TWIT(This Week In Tech) from a couple months back as I had fallen behind listening to this show. They mentioned something that everyone just loved and that is rare for the panel to unanimously agree on anything. It is this new GPS unit called the Dash. Dash appears to do everything that a normal GPS does with turn by turn directions and all of that, but it is connected to the internet via both Wifi and cell phone for real time data. It automatically updates maps, and data. It has a database that reflect speed traps, and red light cameras. The units apparently even send back anonymous data about your travel to let other Dash users know the road conditions as far as speed and traffic congestion. The internet connection also has built in search functions so that you can lookup a phone number, find the nearest food, or lookup anything specific your interested in. Overall it just sounds very cool and appears to put most of the common things that come up that you want to lookup or do at your fingers.

So has anyone else seen one of these, have one, or use one? They say the unit costs $399, and the cell phone subscription costs like $10 or $12 a month to stay connected. Map updates are done over the internet and are free.

The price looks good, and frankly most of the features that I really want sound like they are built into this thing. So I would love to hear from owners of this GPS.

Here are some links about it:
http://www.boston.com/business/techn...ctions/?page=1

http://www.dash.net/

I have been the guinea pig in the past, but if I can find someone who has already tried this and says it is a good fit for OTR that would be awesome.

Longsnowsm

 

I've been running DeLorme Street Atlas USA with GPS on a laptop a little over 4 years. I have upgraded everything at least a couple of times. I'm so used to having them running and I'm very pleased with the results.

The greatest benefit of this arrangement is real time maps on the laptop's 17" monitor bungied into the passenger seat. I can view it at a glance without having to squint or refocus.

I have never used a stand alone GPS, like a Tom Tom, etc, I have heard the screens can be hard to read or interpurt under the best of circumstances and impossible all too often. You may have heard NO GPS is 100% reliable. I like to "trust but verify" by looking at the map before I let the turn by turn voice prompts send me to the gates of hell.

As for real time traffic, I can't see where that's really going to do much good. I can think of a bazillion times someone has said "You'll be just fine if you can get off at exit . . " . . . the one behind me.

My big upgrade this year has been the addition of a Sprint air card, $150, or so and $60/mo for unlimited access. The aircard includes a GPS feature I haven't even begun to explore. If you like to use the endless resources of the internet, this thing is priceless. I spent Saturday night in one of the (breath taking) view areas along the San Rafael Swell. I was able to post to this site (CAD)while walking around and taking in the view as the sun was going down.

I didn't look at the links you provided but I will look back at this thread to see if anyone has anything good to say about them.

 

Thanks for the input on the Delorme. I currently have both a Garmin GPS and I have Microsoft Streets and Trips on my laptop. I was looking at a new GPS in the hopes that I could get some of the new features, and possibly they would be a little more user friendly. I am kind of hoping that we will see more of these devices that combine the best features of the computer with the best features of the navigation stuff into one appliance type thing that is always just right there handy. That is why I became more interested in this. My Garmin I find I use more than my computer when driving down the road with the navigation features. I find the Garmin isn't all that handy to enter in addresses and that sort of thing and becomes frustrating and a pain. That send to the dash feature right from my computer looks way too cool on the Dash and would save a lot of time and hassle. So no more fumbling around trying to enter stuff on the GPS itself. So I am looking for a hybrid that can give the best of both tools in one.

I hopped out on Amazon and read some reviews there, and watched the couple of videos. The promos and professional reviewers seem to give it good marks, but real people who bought the unit seemed to be mixed in their reviews. Looks like the product is still pretty new and that there are still bugs to be worked out of it. It looks like with the frequent updates that these should get pushed out to the unit as soon as they are released and I would assume that these problems that get reported should get addressed. So it doesn't look like anyone who has one of these is stuck with it as it is out of the box.

It would appear that anyone who buys one of these is officially in the early adopter stage and will have to be willing to be on the bleeding edge and put up with some growing pains. The unit even has a bug report feature when something mis-behaves that you click on the bug report and it is mailed to you so you can fill it out in as much detail as possible and then send it to the company to address. So it looks like they are serious about improvements. If people will take the time to submit problems as they come up then most likely those areas will get fixed.

The other thing that was interesting to read about is that they appear to have just opened up the software and API's so that anyone can write applications for this product so that other features and abilities can be added. So that sound really interesting also. It sounds like this machine is built on Open Source software so if they actually open it up for the development community some really cool things can and probably will come from this product in new abilities and functions.

So overall if your a gadget junkie like me this might be something to check out. Walt Mossberg on the Amazon video called it a game changer. I think I will have to see it for myself. The price actually appears to have dropped to $299. For that I may have to try it out for myself and see just how it works. Overall it looks like it has some rough edges. Hey, whats one more mostly useless thing in the techie junk pile? LOL

Oh, and if I don't post again... You know I ordered one and the wife unit killed me :shock: :lol:

Longsnowsm

 

I have been thinking of buying a stand alone GPS unit for a while now,I think I am gonna try this unit......more to follow

edit: bought today $379 shipped 2nd day,with a 2nd car kit....more later

 

I did the same thing and placed an order for a Dash. After giving it some thought I took the plunge and decided to give it a try. As long as it is reasonably good for a new technology and usable the I will give it a shot and give them time to fix and enhance the product.

I think it would be cool if they added an interface for connecting to your in vehicle audio. Then offer something like Last.fm or something like that where you have streaming audio or internet radio. There are a lot of possibilities for this device. I also will follow-up to let everyone know how well it works and general impressions. Should be fun!

Longsnowsm

 

Should we start praying? :lol:

 

another review with lots of pics

http://www.product-reviews.net/2008/...and-interface/

 

what about this...........>>>>>> http://www.teletype.com/Merchant2/me..._Code=WorldNav

 

I've heard of people having a lot of problems with that unit on XM ch 171.

 

I have seen that teletype unit advertised a couple of times and figured that it must not be that great since I haven't heard that many ppl raving about it. The Dash unit on the other hand looks awesome! Im very impressed with the features and abilities of that unit!

I currently have a tom-tom that is about 2 years old. I purchased it for my job when I was a telecommunications tech. and always traveling to unfamiliar areas. To this day, I honestly don't think I would have lasted as long as I did in that industry without it.

With the number of truckers on the road these days you think it would be quite lucrative for someone to come out with a top-notch, dependable unit. I know too many truckers myself that want a unit that is dedicated to the trucker. My guess is that it is only a matter of time before someone fills this demand.