Dash Express GPS review pt. 3 – Almost there…but not quite yet
Jun 30, 2008 | Filed under Gadgets, Reviews
I covered a couple of problems with the Dash Express GPS receiver in part 1 and part 2 of my review, but there’s a growing list of frustration with the Dash that make it feel like I’m more of a beta tester instead of a paying customer.
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Routing Issues – The primary function of a GPS receiver is to get you where you need to go as quickly and efficiently as possible. For basic GPS devices, it’s their only function. So why does it seem like Dash has such a hard time with it. As I admitted before, this is my first GPS receiver, so some of the routing issues could be bad map data from TeleAtlas, who Garmin and TomTom also use for map data. However, when my GPS can’t find a route that Google Maps can, I’m concerned. Especially when its most touted feature is its two-way connectivity.
The traffic information Dash provides is great, and the ability to choose different routes based on traffic is really cool. The problem is, when traffic is detected ahead, and the Dash offers to re-route you around it, it rarely offers a viable alternative to the route you’re already on. In fact, I’ve found that if I occasionally ask the Dash to re-route manually, it will find a better route that it didn’t find to begin with. That needs to be fixed.
- Speed – The Dash is slow. Slooooow. Slowpoke Rodriguez slow. I’m seriously hoping this is due to a lack of code optimization and not a hardware issue. When the unit is cold-booted, you wait and wait…then you wait to acquire a GPS…wait to connect to the network, wait between menu screens, wait for the dash to calculate routes…it makes you wonder if they named the unit “Express” for ironic reasons. The data connection wait is a big deal for me, as well…I don’t mind that the connection speed is limited to GPRS speeds (1G, if you don’t know what that means – basically, browsing the mobile web on a cell phone that’s five years old). All you’re using the live data connection for is traffic info and essentially text searches, which really aren’t bandwidth intensive. No, my problem is with how long it takes for it to get connected…if you want to find someplace to go in a hurry, you can spend nearly five minutes waiting for the device to hop on the internet so you can get your search on. Which brings us to…
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Connectivity usefulness – The idea behind having an internet connected GPS is fantastic, but in execution, it comes up lacking. One of the biggest problems is that they partnered with Yahoo! Local to provide search results. The Y! database is partially user maintained, and in my experience, not as reliable as information from other sources. Search results for Chick-Fil-A have led me on separate occasions to Duncanville City Hall, and a Panera Bread. A feature the Dash guys were really proud of when they rolled the Express out was the ability to fuzzy search, as in, all I have to do is search for “pizza” or “bowling” instead of a specific place name. The problem is, it’s broken. A search for “ice cream” near me ignored the Baskin Robbins and the Marble Slab less than two miles from me, even though searching for those places by name found them. The search results are always listed by “relevance,” and you can’t change it to default to say, distance or alphabetical by default. There’s also no way to page through results, so you get the first ten or so results that come up, and that’s it.
The network connectivity also gives the Dash Express some pretty unique opportunities in the way of DashApps, a software development kit that lets anyone program applications to be used on the Dash. Again, this is a great idea, but right now, most of the apps are useless. All of the applications so far are awkward to use because they’re essentially built on top of the search function. They’re clunky and awkward and pretty much useless, unless you want to use the twitter app to let people stalk you.
- Wi-Fi, why? – If you look up any review about the Dash Express to date, you will invariably come across complaints about the size. And you should, this thing is huge! Dash says the hefty size of the Express is because of the GPRS and Wi-Fi receivers, extra-large battery, and high-gain Wi-Fi antenna. I find that a little hard to swallow, since my T-Mobile Shadow has Wi-Fi, EDGE (faster GPRS), and can run for a day-and-a-half (with Direct Push turned on, no less), off of a relatively tiny lithium battery. And, honestly, the more I think about it, I still can’t think of a reason to justify having Wi-Fi on the unit. Like I said, the cellular connection is fast enough for searches and traffic data, so the Wi-Fi is pretty much only practical for software updates. In fact, it’s required for software updates. It would be just as easy to download updates through a computer (in fact, the manual states that for large updates, this may be necessary anyway), so why exclude people without wireless routers?
- Useless battery – The massive battery in the Dash is another big reason for its expanded waistband, but it seems pointless, too. The Dash is way too big to be pocketable or any kind of portable, and you can’t update the software without being plugged into an external power source, anyway. All that weight, and the thing barely gets three hours of use off a full charge, and eats up battery in standby mode. You can fully charge the Express and leave it in standby overnight, only to have it tell you in the morning that the battery is extremely low, and it won’t continue to operate without being plugged-in.
- Stability – I’ve had the software crash twice now while in the middle of routing me. Fortunately, I was still close to home so I wasn’t lost, but annoyances and hiccups like this are frequent. Like I said, I feel like a beta tester, not a paying customer, and it’s a huge annoyance.
Now this may seem like I’m pretty down on Dash, but I’m not. First of all, what it does right, it does very well. I’ve hardly spent any time in traffic thanks to Dash, despite traveling all over the Dallas area at all times of day. And on the rare occasion that I did sit in traffic, I knew it was coming and it was accurately included in my ETA. Most, if not all of these problems can be fixed with software updates, which Dash has promised to release on a regular basis. The “May” update delayed to the “Middle of June” should be out any day now; the survey I was sent shows that they’re working on some really useful improvements, and they care what their customers think; and the new permanent price point of $299 makes it much easier to overlook the early-adopter hiccups. Now, as much as I’d like for all of you to go out, buy a Dash Express, and drive around the Dallas area leaving little dotted trails of traffic data like Billy from the Family Circus, the fact is that the Dash Express isn’t for everyone. This is not a vacation or road-trip oriented GPS — yet. But, if you’re a road warrior, commuter, or professional driver, you may actually find that it may be exactly what you’re looking for. As long as they hurry up with those software updates.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:20 am
So, this is what I get for procrastinating — I meant to write this up last week but got busy with work, and was kind of dreading it (can you blame me? Look how long this bloody thing is!). So I finally write it up last night and post it this morning, only to find out that they released the June software update, which will fix a bunch of problems. Apologies to everyone…I’ll get impressions on the new software up later this week (not driving anywhere today).
June 30th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Ya..lol this may change a few things.
July 1st, 2008 at 9:29 am
Also, I keep fixing the code on the pictures up there, and WP keeps eating my changes. It’s more than a little frustrating. Apologies if the formatting is off.