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GPS obsessed

Wednesday
29 August 2018

Dash Express June08 Update Completely Wireless, Brings Hot New Features

Dash Express

Dash Navigation, maker of the Dash Express and arguably the most innovative player in the navigation market at the moment, will be updating Dash Express users with the June08 Update wirelessly requiring absolutely no PC connection.  Completely done over-the-air, the June08 Update adds some handy new features to the Express.  MyRoute and Search Along Route are designed to ask questions such as “Where is the nearest coffee shop?” or “Are there any other options to this route?”, adding a touch of intelligence to the PND.

FasterFind reduces the time the Dash requires to attain a GPS fix on startup and maps are now drawn 50% faster than when the PND was first released.  Now the Dash Express is definitely worth the reduced $299 price; we’re definitely impressed.  Check out the press release after the jump…

Dash Navigation Announces GPS Industry’s First Wireless Software Update and Sends New Features and Enhancements to Dash Express

06/30/08

Sunnyvale, Calif. – June 30, 2008

News Facts

Dash Navigation, Inc. (www.dash.net), the first Internet-connected automotive GPS device, today became the first GPS provider to wirelessly update customers’ device software over-the-air without requiring them to separately purchase and install upgrades via a PC or DVD download. Later today, Dash drivers will automatically receive the software update over WiFi by simply turning on their Dash Express.

The June08 Update adds several new features designed to answer customers’ everyday commuting questions such as “Is my route the best option today?” or “Where is the closest coffee shop along my route?” The MyRoute™ and Search Along Route™ product enhancements make the Dash Express even more relevant for everyday commuting.

The June08 Update also includes a new GPS fix feature called FasterFind™ which dramatically decreases the time it takes for the Dash Express to find its position and start navigating.

Subscribers of the Dash service receive ongoing software updates throughout the year including historical traffic information from the Dash Driver Network, new features, software improvements and updated maps.

The June08 Update includes the following new features and enhancements:

· MyRoute – Maps and traditional GPS devices are great navigation tools, but they will never replace local street smarts. Drivers often know the best shortcuts to and from the places that they frequent, but what they really want to know is whether their route is the smartest route today based on current traffic data. Dash is the only GPS that learns routes automatically based on user behavior. With Dash’s new MyRoute feature, as drivers travel from one point to another, the device automatically learns their preferred route. The next time that they drive between the same origin and destination, the first route choice will be a MyRoute, complete with traffic-based arrival time data. Drivers can compare their MyRoute to the computed Dash routes, including traffic detours, and decide which one is optimal.

· Search Along Route – Finding whatever drivers need on the road using Yahoo! Local search just got even easier. With the new Search Along Route feature, Dash drivers can now search for virtually anything they need along their selected route, shortening diversions on the way to their destination. Want to grab a latte on the way to a meeting? Simply do a Yahoo! Local search for “Starbucks” and select “along route” to be presented with the stores that are most conveniently located. Results are displayed with the distance from the current location, the distance from the route and the direction of the destination relative to the selected route.

· FasterFind – With FasterFind powered by SiRFInstantFix technology, Dash Express uses additional over-the-air GPS satellite position information to get a fast GPS fix so Dash drivers can be underway in seconds. Since the Dash Express is connected, the FasterFind file is automatically and wirelessly downloaded at regular intervals providing users with the most accurate GPS satellite position information available. There is no need to connect to a PC or wait to get a GPS fix. FasterFind not only helps drivers get a quick start every time the device is turned on, it also enables a fast GPS fix under difficult conditions such as beneath tree cover and near high-rise buildings.

· Performance Enhancements – Continued system upgrades have enabled significant progress in overall device performance. For instance, the June08 Update increases the speed in which Dash Express draws its maps by more than 50%. It also enables quicker toggling between 2D and 3D map views and smoother map zooming.

· User Interface Improvements – The June08 Update also includes numerous user-requested refinements to the Dash Express interface, making it even more intuitive for daily use. These improvements include tuning the route selection screen to make it easier to select among the multiple route choices, improving the readability of road labels on the map and expanding the night mode color scheme across more menus for glare reduction.

In conjunction with the first of its kind software update, Dash announced that the Dash Developer Program, launched in May, is off to a great start with over 30 partner and user-created DashApps* that enable consumers to access a wide range of personalized content in their cars – weather, garage sales, real estate listings, speed traps, Twitter – and more!

The company’s newest partner, EveryBlock, collects and publishes neighborhood and block-level news in cities including Chicago, New York and San Francisco. With the EveryBlock DashApp, launched today, drivers in those cities 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) — all filtered geographically according to the vehicle’s current location.

Quote from Dash Navigation

“Unlike existing GPS devices, the Internet-connected Dash Express, is the first system designed to keep learning and getting smarter over time,” said Paul Lego, CEO of Dash Navigation. “Today’s software update is just the beginning. We’re interacting with our customers on a daily basis, gathering their input and incorporating it into the product. With our newest features, we’re able to help our customers quickly get the answers they need during their daily commutes.”

* Content provided by third party developers through the Dash dynamic API is not under the control of Dash and as such is not always guaranteed to be available.

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TeleAtlas And Google Partner For The Greater Good Of Maps: User-Generated Map Edits Key To Deals Success

TeleAtlas LogoFor the next five years, any Google map-based or navigational services for the mobile, desktop, or web environments will use TeleAtlas maps.  This includes popular Google properties such as Google Maps and Google Earth.  The deal nets Google access to TeleAtlas maps and dynamic content for more than 200 countries around the world, and TeleAtlas will receive access to map edits from Google’s huge user base, in essence crowdsourcing the accuracy and relevance of future TeleAtlas maps.  Exactly how much money will change hands is undisclosed so far, but this deal is worth a pretty penny in value to the end user-you and me.  This partnership will mean better maps from TeleAtlas, owned by TomTom, which will run the gamut from Google Maps on the web to TomTom PND’s firmly mounted on your car’s windshield.  We’ll keep you updated as we hear more.

via teleatlas

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Nokia 7510 Supernova With AGPS

Nokia 7510 Supernova Flip Phone

Nokia’s 7510 Supernova flip phone, headed for Europe features AGPS and access to Nokia Maps 1.2 for mappiing, routing, and local search.  Available in ’storm blue’, ‘red’, ‘emerald green’ and ‘espresso brown’, the Nokia 7510 also features a 2.2-inch QVGA display, a 4x digital zoom 2MP camera with NIPS and an LED flash, FM radio and an MP3 player.  Look for the 7510 Supernova sometime in the 4th quarter of 2008 for about 180 EUR.

via navigadget

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Digitalcube i-station U7: Finally, A GPS Device That Saves You More Gas Money Than Usual

Digitalcube i-station U7

The Digitalcube i-station U7 GPS is an innovative addition to the automotive navigation market, especially in this day and age of ridiculously high gas prices.  In fact, the whopping 7-inch i-station U7 uses knowledge of road systems to route you the most economical way to your destination possible.  And by economical we don’t just mean the shortest.  The Digitalcube unit uses a tilt-sensitive to track hills which obviously suck up more gas than driving on the flat and this unit even has knowledge of ideal driving styles which it draws on when mapping your route for you.

As if this isn’t enough, the i-station U7 features a 800 x 480 pixel touchscreen with a blue/red LED light that changes according to how impressed the device is with your driving efficiency, audio/video playback including DMB digital TV, 4GB of built-in memory, and Mappy United (what the heck is this?) mapping software with traffic info.

As cool as Digitalcube’s new i-station U7 GPS is, we won’t be seeing it in the US at the moment.  But if you’re headed to Korea before the end of July, you’ll find this cool new PND on shelves priced at 398, 000KRW, or about US$398.

Digitalcube i-station U7

Digitalcube i-station U7

via slashgear

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nrme: Twitter In A 9 Block Radius; Cool Idea But Will It Reach A Critical Mass Of Users

nrme LogoBig dick Mike Arrington and his crew over at TechCrunch got an early look at iPhone app nrme, a mobile messaging system that only allows messages between people within a 9 block radius of one another.  Something like Twitter, nrme (pronounced near me) allows you to submit short messages on your iPhone which are readable by everyone using the app in the vicinity.  Unlike Twitter, there is no “follow” option but there is the option of privately chatting with other users.  The real purpose of nrme is to find out what’s going on within walking distance of your current location rather than making friends or socializing.  Andrew Bennett, CEO of nrme, plans on displaying local advertising in order to monetize the app and sees it used by bars to announce happy hours and hotels offering discounts.  Sounds interesting but for it to really work, nrme will have to find a critical mass of users plus a way of filtering out irrelevant messages or friends would just be better off sending text messages to each other in order to update everyone on local happenings.  nrme should make its debut sometime this summer, very likely in a couple of weeks when the iPhone App Store is expected to open.

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How To Use A GPS Device To Avoid Traffic Tickets

Phantom Alert GPS Device To Avoid Traffic

While speed traps are definitely a good thing in terms of safety and accident prevention, it always sucks when you’re in an unfamiliar area where your knowledge of speed limits, etc., etc. isn’t quite up to par and, flash, next thing you know you get a pricey traffic ticket in the mail.

Thanks to PhantomAlert.com, a website that has compiled an extensive database of both American and Canadian speed trap and red light camera locations, you can import the entire 3400 troublespot database to your Garmin, TomTom, Magellan, or other compatible device by connected you GPS device to your PC via USB.  Once imported, every time you happen to approach a speed trap or red light camera, your GPS unit will alert you with both audio and visual warnings.  If you happen to be one of the unlucky few that hit a trap that isn’t in the database yet, you can head to the PhantomAlert website and contribute all the details yourself.

The database is free to download and use for one year, after which a $25 annual subscription fee covers updates.  Plus if you’re still looking to jump on the GPS bandwagon, you can purchase a unit from PhantomAlert and receive free updates for life.

How To Use A GPS Device To Avoid Traffic

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Cartography: An Exciting Career Option?

Cartography Work

Look Boring? Apparently It’s Not Half Bad

I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say that their goal in life is to be a cartographer, but survey geologist Jon Ford and cartographer Edward Mainwaring say there is no better career path.  If a career that offers travel, learning new technologies day in and out, and developing everything from print maps for newspapers to location-based mobile applications, sound appealing to you head over to the UK’s Times Online to read the full interviews.

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Mio Moov 380 Connected PND Gets Launched; Coming To US By End Of 2008?

Mio Moov 380

Mio’s Moov 380 has officially passed through the FCC so it’s a reasonable assumption to believe we should see it in the US by the holiday shopping season.  The company’s “lightest connected PND on the market”, the Moov 380 has a built-in SIM card and GPRS connectivity allowing you to make phone calls with the GPS device and also search the web for local points of interest.  With the built-in cellular functionality, you don’t have to worry about sometimes troublesome Bluetooth synchronization and the expected Qualcomm service should feature a flat-rate data plan and both 2.75G and 3G support.  The Moov 380 features a SiRFInstantFixII chip that improves the satellite fix times and workability in urban trouble spots compared to previous generation chipsets, a superslim and minimalistic design to enhance portability, intelligent route planning and MioMore Desktop which allows you to keep your Moov 380 up-to-date with the latest POI’s and maps just by connecting to a PC.  The 4.3 inch TFT touchscreen connected device runs on Windows CE .NET 5 and includes preloaded MioMap 2008 software.  Look for it to hit shelves sometime later this year.

via gpslodge

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USTelematics Voyager Mobile TV Gets GPS Upgrade To Find Real-Time Gas Prices

USTelematics Voyager In-Car TV

USTelematics, a company whose sole purpose in today’s marketplace is to create “wired” technologies for next-generation cars, will adding a GPS upgrade to the Voyager in-car Mobile Internet Protocol TV in order to integrate Microsoft’s MSN Autos Gas Price Finder.  Car owners with the Voyager TV system will now be able to find the closest, cheapest has prices in real time.

This is undoubtedly a super handy feature in an economy where gas prices are through the roof, but of course consumers will pay extra for the added feature.  With the press of an on-screen button, the driver’s location will be fed to MSN Autos online gas price database and a popup window will appear on the Voyager’s screen with a listing of the nearest refueling stations and their prices.  The window minimizes itself after a couple of minutes.

Adding the GPS upgrade does cost, but beyond that there is no extra cost to use the service beyond the obvious EVDO broadband subscription cost.  Head over to MSN Autos for demo of how you can find local, real-time gas prices.

via businesswire

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Google’s Map Maker: Hyperlocalizing Map Data Collection Through The Power Of The Masses

Google Mapmaker Screenshot

In a mashup between a location-based service and a good ol’ wiki, Google has launched MapMaker, a new service that lets anyone add details to Map data from selected regions around the world.  What’s great about the service is that it utilizes citizens to hyper-localize data collection, making it a much more efficient method of collecting geographic data, increasing its accuracy in the process.

The service allows users to edit pretty much everything from roads to businesses and local points of interest using a trace tool.  By tracing new features over satellite images, maps are immediately updated.  As of now, maps in the following countries are editable: Cyprus, Iceland, Pakistan, Vietnam, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago.

The MapMaker service was put togther by Bangalore-based Google engineers.

Google Mapmaker

via google latlong (picture credit: cnet, google)

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