Dash Diary: Testing Out New Features

Editor’s Note: One of the main features of the Dash Express GPS navigator, which we reviewed in March, is that it is the first plug-in navigator with an always-on cellular connection to the Internet. This lets you conduct live Yahoo searches for destinations, but, more importantly, it lets you receive live traffic data from other Dash-using drivers. Here is a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH9f2zUXct0) showing how it works.

One nice thing about being a Dash subscriber, besides getting current traffic conditions for most of the major roads in your area, is the free updates. The company recently released its first major software update for the Dash Express, so if you’re a subscriber and your Dash is connected to your home Wi-Fi network, you can get several important new features at no extra cost. I took the Dash on a weekend trip to New Hope, Pennsylvania, and here’s what I thought about the improvements:

Search Along Route: The Dash can now search for destinations not just in a given town, but along the route you’re driving. It’s a big timesaver. I like that the results screen shows both the distance from where you currently are and the distance away from your route. It’s a tremendously useful way to find a coffee shop or restaurant that’s along the way. The hitch is that it only works with Yahoo searches, not the device’s built-in category searches (it doesn’t work with the gas station search, for example, which is a real drag).

FasterFind: The Dash Express now locks onto your current GPS position seconds after turning the device on. This worked every time in my testing, letting me start routing faster than before.

Performance Enhancements: The Dash now toggles between the 2D and 3D views much more quickly, something that was sorely needed, and zooms in and out more quickly. Now I’d like to see a smart 2D/3D combo view, which shows you the 2D map most of the time (because then you can see traffic for your entire area), but switches to 3D mode automatically when you’re about to make a tricky turn and aren’t sure which lane to be in.

Better User Interface: The Dash’s route selection screen benefits from a more colorful, clearer UI, making it easier to see where each route option goes. Roads are also labeled more clearly on the 2D and 3D map views.

MyRoute: The only improvement I wasn’t able to test is MyRoute. With it, the Dash learns your favorite routes for frequent destinations and presents those routes first in the route selection screen. It sounds like a handy tool for commuters who have their own favorite ways of getting places.