Dash Update

[Tim]

Dash Express June Update

[Kayrac]

damn to fast for me tim, i wanted to grab a few hrs of z's after work before this

[Kayrac]

Update just went live

i got it dl'd installed

[Tim]

Yeah, me too... I'm still seeing a couple of old issues. But most of the new stuff looks fun!

[caryrae]

The routing doesn't seem any better. I tried an address that I used before the update and it wanted me to go a wierd way and tried same address after update and gave me the same out of the way choices when there is an obvious more direct, faster route. Also was hopping for auto zoom but everything they changed looks good. I thought the routing problem would have been updated for sure this update.

[Tim]

I too was hoping for some routing updates... Maybe there were some but I still see the same glaring issues.

[Kayrac]

2 of the issues i submitted outta 3 were fixed, atleast preliminary testing shows they are(only 1 trip), so atleast some of the routing got fixed , but this was more not choosing a route but in the middle of a route glitches

[Tim]

Can you describe what you mean?

[Kayrac]

Now that the updates are being delivered, here are the June08 release notes that I pulled together. It's not a fully comprehensive list of every enhancement and bug fix, but does capture the new features and key device improvements.

Performance-related

NEW FEATURE – FasterFind™ – With the new FasterFind feature, we have dramatically decreased the time it takes for your Dash Express to find its position and start navigating. Powered by SiRFInstantFix technology, Dash Express uses additional over-the-air GPS satellite position information to get a fast GPS fix so you can be underway in seconds. FasterFind will even improve your device’s ability to get a GPS fix under difficult conditions such as beneath tree cover and near high-rise buildings.

IMPROVED – Map Rending – Our map rendering speed has improved by over 50%.

IMPROVED – System Speed – We have improved our frame rates leading to faster toggling between 2D and 3D map view and smoother zooming in and out.

Routing

NEW FEATURE – MyRoute™ – With the new MyRoute feature, as you travel from one point to another, your Dash Express will automatically learn your preferred route in the background. The next time that you drive between the same origin and destination, the first route choice will be your MyRoute, complete with traffic-based arrival time data. You can compare your MyRoute to the computed Dash routes, including traffic detours, and decide which one is optimal.

NEW FEATURE – Detour around Road Closures – You will now receive road closure alerts and be routed around road closures.

IMPROVED – Route Selection Screen – To make it easier to select between route choices, we have added new labeling and have made the trip time data more prominent.

IMPROVED – Distance to Next Turn – We have improved the accuracy of our distance to next turn guidance.

IMPROVED – Arrival Time Estimates – We have improved the accuracy of arrival time estimates.

FIXED – Route Spinning – We have resolved the bug that was causing constant route spinning.

Guidance & Interface

IMPROVED – Final Destination Guidance – House numbers are now announced when arriving at your destination.

IMPROVED – Arrow Guidance – Visual tuning to the 3D arrow makes it easier to understand turn guidance.

IMPROVED – Road Labels – Color and style changes improve the readability of road names (both 2D and 3D)
IMPROVED – Address Book Logic – Now when you mark something as a favorite, it will automatically be added to your address book.

IMPROVED – Night Mode – For easier readability in nighttime conditions, we have extended the “night-mode” version across more screens including the address cards, the system information and report a problem. We also resolved the bug causing Auto day/night functionality to work inconsistently.

IMPROVED – Direction List Guidance – Distance and time data for each maneuver is no longer presented in a cumulative format, but is more specific to the individual road segment.

IMPROVED – Traffic Alert Placement – To make it easier to view the direction and distance to next turn, we have moved the traffic alert and blocked road alerts to the right-side of the interface.

IMPROVED – Roundabout Guidance – Traffic circle/roundabout guidance now includes both street name and exit number.

IMPROVED – Voice Guidance – We have decreased the frequency of ramp guidance. We also resolved the bug around FM (farm-to-market) roads.

IMPROVED – Average Speed Data – Your Trip Info should include a more accurate average speed calculation.

IMPROVED – Update Messaging – More descriptive update messaging has been implemented to give clearer guidance on the type of update and the amount of time we expect the update to require.

Search

NEW FEATURE – Search Along Route™ –Finding whatever you need on the road using Yahoo! Local search just got even easier. With the new Search Along Route feature, you can now search for anything you need along your selected route, shortening diversions on the way to your 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 off the route and the direction of the destination relative to the selected route.

IMPROVED – Date Added to Gas Prices/Movies – We now communicate the day that we last updated gas prices and movie times directly on the interface

IMPROVED – Search Tuning – For the top 500 most common searches, we have tuned the data sorting to present more relevancy in the results.

IMPROVED – Search Distance Readability – Style changes improve the readability of the distances of search results.
__________________
Dave Zatz, Dash Navigation
dzatz@dash.net

[Kayrac]

On the road near my house, it would take me along to a highway(125), i would need to turn left onto the highway

every time i would get to about 700ft before the turn it would recalculate, and then decide that i needed to turn left on a road that i had passed about 1mile before, when i got right at the turn, it would re-calc again, and tell me the correct way to turn left onto calef highway(125)

that is no longer doing that

also that same area, when turning RIGHT OFF OF calef highway(125), theres a small road that splits it shortly after you turn, .4miles maybe?, when i approached that intersection it would recalculate and tell me to 'turn right on calef highway', which i already turned off of, after passing that intersection it would recalc again and fix itself, was always annoying

that was also fixed
for the above, it was never at the same time, and always just a bit before that road, so i am not sure if it had to do with the road or what, but it seems to be fixed, it was doing it about 99% of the time, i'll have to do more testing though

the one i first mentioned did it 100% of the time, and it did not today so thats a thumbs up

the third involves not following the route it wants me to take, and taking a right to get onto 125 much earlier, it would recalc but seemed to get confused and remember the old route, and have 2 of the 'route following' lines drawn, when approaching that same intersection from my first problem, the route following line that i was on(the correct one) would stop just short of the intersection, and continue along after it, BUT like i said it was drawing 2 route follow lines, so my original route line was still there

was very weird, i have not tested the final one yet

does the above make sense tim?




on a side note, the speed of the device is a million times faster

[Tim]

[Kayrac]

Oh yeah i forgot to mention it actually seems to be 'forcing' route creation even when theres not a viable one, for instance my original route the good one, was about 15min, the other two were like 30-45mins, one had me go in a giant circle to get to a intersection i'd get to in 30sec originally(that route prob woulda taken 10-15 to get there), and the 45minute one i dunno wth, it was just retarded to say the least, but it did pick the good route, and there isn't really anymore than 1 option for where i was going

[offthegrid]

[Kayrac]

dash was always better about using roads i used to use than any other gps, but i notice the routes it comes up with are retarded sometimes , thats about it

Oh yeah problem #3 from my post above, is not fixed, along with a new issue i found with myroutes, still waiting on a response from dash about the myroute thing i submitted

[hman710]

But for the most part, MyRoute shows that it is learning your preferred route?

[Kayrac]

Yes myroute will remember the route you take, even if you take the route it suggests, it will learn that as your route, and as such won't need to 'calculate' it every time, you can just select go instantly

Many of 'myroutes' on my dash, are the routes the dash picks as the best, except now i don't need to wait for it to calculate the route in the first place

[offthegrid]

Big distinction between learning the route and remembering the exact route for that exact trip.

This seems like a band aid to the real problem, routing.

I have done a search for a bank after getting off the highway. Its great to be able to do this. However even though the bank was maybe go 1,200 feet and then turn left and then another half mile on the left DE wants me to get back on the highway take the next exit and track back to the banks location.
Much further but (from my experience) this fits the profile of getting me on a road that has traffic coverage. The example the user from Minnesota posted in the MyDash forum where he is a straight line from his destination but Dash made a route taking him to the highway was what I have seen more often than not.

I've been using my old TomTom for the last week or so.

[Danimal]

I hope the addition of my routes will motivate the other gps makers to add this feature to future models.
The ability to make your own route is something that is one of the most discussed ,and requested features mentioned on this and other gps forums.
So why did it take so long for a gps unit to have this feature?

[Tim]

Well, don't misinterpret what this feature is-- you still can't make your own route ahead of time. In order to "make" the route you need to drive it.

Other manufacturers do give you the ability to create your own routes and save them. You can do it on most of the TomTom models, the Nuvi 700, 800, 5000 series, etc.

[Danimal]

I think what Dash is offering is a huge step forward with the My Routes feature over the other models you mention.
Correct me if I am wrong ,with the other models you have to add via or waypoints to create a route .
Some gps units make you touch the screen to agree to the continue onto the next via or waypoint while driving.
The Dash feature should allow to drive a route .save it ,use it in the future or share with others without the hassle of the waypoints.

[Tim]

To my knowledge you can't share the route with others on the Dash, but I know you can with the Garmin and TomTom models.

I guess we just differ on opinions. If I want to go a certain way, I want to map it out on the GPS before I drive the route. If I know the route well enough that I can drive it without creating the route ahead of time, why do I need the GPS?

[Danimal]

So do you see this new feature as any improvement at all?
And if you have already plotted out your route why do you need a gps?

[caryrae]

It is definately no substitue for better routing. It is good because it will give you traffic info for the route but other than that it's not a great feature because what's the point of a GPS that needs you to tell it the better routes because it can't give them to you itself.

This from Brandon at Dash:

[rban]

I fully concur that it is not a substitute for a better routing engine. It would not help me on vacation.

However, it would seem that a significant use for the DASH is commuting to and from work. A unique feature of DASH is the traffic feature. So, this seems like a good thing to add as a stop gap to help those that commute to and from work. They likely already have a favorite route and want to see traffic on their favorite route and how the travel time with traffic compares to other routes. Thus, it would seem this addition could be beneficial.

This would not help at all when on vacation or away from territory that you are familiar with. Thus, a better routing engine is still needed. However, for those commuting to and from work it would seem to be a good stopgap feature.

[JeepLover]

On Nov 3, 2009, Dash announced on their web site that they are changing directions and would no longer be offering their own GPS units.

They will be trying to partner their technology with other GPS manufacturers. I think it would be great if their concept could be picked up by Garmin, TomTom and Magellon and we would all (who have the new units) be able to take advantage of everyone elses current traffic information not to mention the ability to access POIs over the Internet.

[Tim]

2008, not 2009. They stopped offering GPS devices just over a year ago and the company has since been sold.