I am pretty surprised myself that there isn't an entire market segment dedicated to trucking and anything transportation wise. I am hoping that we can provide some input with this startup company making the Dash Express regarding trucking, what truckers want, need, and would like to see. They have a feature called My Dash where they have a community section for sharing searches and things that looks pretty cool. I am hoping we can possibly get a trucking section in the community. Here is a cool video demonstrating some of the sharing features:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWVJElDBmO0&NR=1

I have been reading everything I can find on the Dash Express. It sounds like it may have some rough edges and growing pains being a 1.0 type product, but should be able to fix/upgrade itself off the internet as new features are released, maps and software get updated. I hear that their first major firmware release updating the product since it started shipping is suppose to happen on Jun 30th. So that should be the acid test for the support and evolution of this product.

I am pretty excited to see what it can do. I can hardly wait for mine to get here so I can start playing with it. If you get the chance to check out some of the YouTube videos it really looks like a lot of fun!

For those who are not sure what we are talking about, here are some intro videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBQ_E...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bs0b...eature=related

Search features:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WSvX...p;feature=user

Longsnowsm

 

Wow...

Thats a nice device,

maybe they will work out the bugs , I would buy it

 

Yeah me too,my unit is comig today,but I am not sure when I will be able toget home to get it :cry:

I have joined a yahoo user group called "dash navigation",check it out.

 

Just a quick update. The promised software update to the Dash Express was posted today. It looks like they are taking requests that people have provided and are adding those enhancements. They updated many of the units capabilities, and added a bunch of new features such as My Route, and a feature called Search Along Route. Faster screen updates, and faster GPS location features. All very cool stuff. You can see some of the new features mentioned on the Dash Blog. Check out some of the new features and capabilties that can be downloaded to this GPS over the Wifi connection.

http://blog.dash.net/

My unit has shipped from Amazon, but has not arrived yet. I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival and getting this thing updated to the newest software build. No more dead end technology, and this unit appears to learn as you use it. I can hardly wait for my new toy to arrive.

It looks like this company is interested in what people want. So if professional drivers make their needs known this company may be willing to taylor tools, and functions to suite the truck drivers needs. Just a thought.

Longsnowsm

 

Well the new GPS arrived and I had a chance to play with it a bit. Here are my initial impressions of this tool/toy:

The box, packaging, and information that comes with the unit is all first rate. The unit and mount feels rugged and looks good. Very nice package. It comes with the wall plug, 12v plug, suction mount arm, GPS, literature, and activation card.

Power on of the GPS does take a little longer than my Garmin. The screens seem very straight forward and easy to use. Everything is basically touch screen. Navigation seems pretty straight forward with large touch screen buttons. Overall the interface seems pretty well done for someone to use while on the road.

On first power up the unit knew about updates being available and prompted me to install it. It seemed to do this a couple of times as if one update made the unit eligible for the next update or something. I didn't try the unit out without the updates so I cannot say how it behaved prior to the updates. I plugged in my WPA key for my wifi and the downoads proceeded quickly. I figured out how to login to the my.dash.net and add some addresses, favorites, and the send2car function for sending things directly to the GPS. It does this almost instantly and is very impressive. You get the notification on the screen right away when you push send. Also the ability to do a search, save it, and then send that search criteria to the screen also very slick.

I find the maps to be rather basic and not as detailed as my Garmin maps. The initial routes that the unit offered showed me a couple of routes. I am familiar with the area so both routes were reasonable, and the primary one is the route I would have normally taken. It showed me the traffic status on both routes, and the estimated time for each route. So I took my normal route which indicated the route was clear and all green. So off I went. I found that a few miles from my departure I ran into slow traffic moving along at 30- 50 mph. This should have been reflected in yellow on the map, but was not. This only lasted a minute or two, so I don't know what the criteria is for something to be shown as slowing or slower traffic.

The next thing I noted was that the unit tends to route almost everything via the highway. I have not found an option like my Garmin which lets me decide shortest vs fastest. I did not experience any delays in routing or screen updates that I have read on the forum, but my route for this maiden voyage was pretty basic.

Overall my initial impressions of the unit are mixed. The connectivity, searching, favorites etc are good. Two thumbs up. The maps however need some work. The maps in areas seem basic and lack details that I know are there such as some small side roads, railroads etc. I don't know if it was that I wasn't zoomed in far enough to see some of those details or if they just aren't there so take what I am saying with a grain of salt. The routing I believe could be enhanced to offer more complex options. I get the feeling that the Dash primarily only wants to route along routes that it has data for as far as traffic is concerned, but it should offer other routes as well and just indicate that it does not know the traffic condition for that route. Dash has indicated on their forum that the maps will be updated at least twice a year. The software updates sound like they will be frequent at this early stage of the products deployment.

So I think at this point I can recommend this to early adopters and those who think this tool can help. I have to admit that the ability to send destinations, and searches from my computer to the GPS with a couple of clicks is very nice. However for those that get annoyed by the work in progress type things I notes should probably wait until later this year. I think by the end of the year there will be at least a couple more updates to the units and most likely a lot of the big things that people are seeing will be ironed out.

This tool looks like it is going to be a big shift in the way navigation devices work going forward. Since this was my maiden trip out with the unit I will try to note the other observations as I get more time with it. I think this could be a very valuable tool for professional drivers given a little more product maturity. So it should be fun to see what happens from here.

For the time being I will be keeping both the Garmin and the Dash Express out on my dash until I feel comfortable that the info I am getting is solid from the Dash Express. So far it is promising.

Longsnowsm

 

Got me a Garmin Nuvi 200

Cool Gadget

It pretty much will route me on the HHG that my company pays.

(just have to look at its itinerary and make sure its not sending under a low bridge)

So far...so good

:mrgreen:

 

I bought a Nuvi 200w (widescreen) for my POV. I just couldn't stand driving anywhere without a GPS. The Garmin is a really nice little unit.