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- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 14 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Great so far, and can only get better"
Pros: Spot-on accuracy, two-way communication, great traffic info
Cons: No Bluetooth, quirky Text-to-Speech, bulky
Summary: The Dash Express hits a great sweet-spot in terms of price and performance. The $200-drop in suggested price was very wise of Dash. $399 for a device with the capabilities it has is an incredible deal, and will help build a user base quickly.
This is important, since it is the user base which will make it improve over time. As more Dash users drive the roads, the traffic info will quickly become hyper-accurate, due to the two-way communication of the device.
I don't know why Cnet's test model had such bad accuracy problems (1-3 blocks off?!?), since mine appears to be spot-on accurate, which greatly impressed me as a first-time GPS owner. I urge Cnet to ask Dash for a new unit and test it again (unless Dash sends them one proactively, of course). Or, perhaps they got started with it too quickly, as the manual does say it may take 5-10 minutes when using it for the first time to gain an accurate position fix, and suggest remaining stationary until then, as it will take longer in a moving car. RTFM, Cnet!
If any device can be given a 10, it would be the Dash Express since, as the saying goes, "Perfection is a road, not a destination." (No pun intended.) The Dash Express is the only GPS device on the market which can truly grow and improve over time when you combine the user base and the over-the-air content updates. It's not quite there yet, but it can be in the future and without having to purchase a new device.
As it stands, I would give it a 9, but have to knock a point off for the lack of Bluetooth. I don't even want Bluetooth for any kind of hands-free speakerphone ability, but simply for the Caller ID (then take the call using my Bluetooth headset). Bluetooth is so incredibly cheap nowadays, that they could have included it easily without raising the price much at all.
The only other minor issue I have noticed is the quirky pronounciation of street names. For example, on my drive to work this morning, it pronounced Tropicana Ave as "tro-PEE-cana". Not a big deal, and I could easily see these quirks being corrected with updates.
So, I give it an 8 now, but could see it being a 10 in the near future, as updates roll in and the user base grows.Updated
I have discovered that the 3d map mode seems to lag a bit behind my actual position. This could be the cause behind Cnet's poor accuracy claims in their review. Not by the 1-3 BLOCKS the Cnet reviewer claims, however, which is a HUGE exaggeration on Cnet's part. Maybe 100 feet. It is possible that the longer you drive in 3d mode, the worse it becomes, but I kind of doubt that is the case, particularly since it still seems to know what street I'm on when I make turns. If this were an issue of GPS accuracy, it would probably report that I'm in someone's garden when I'm actually driving down a street two blocks over, which is what Cnet is implying.
Basically, in 3d mode, when passing a street, it still shows that street just ahead of me. If I happen to turn onto that street, it will show me on that street, though still a bit behind. This could be lag in the 3d mode rendering, or it could simply be a matter of the car's position within the rendering needing to be moved up a little. Either way, it can be fixed with a simple software update.
The default 2d map mode has perfect accuracy, however, which is the mode I usually use.
My score stays at 8/10. Again, I urge Cnet to review the unit a second time, and stick to 2d mode until Dash patches the 3d mapping.
