Dash Wants To Bring Web Mashups To Your Car

dash-logo.pngMap mashups may be one of the coolest things on the Web, but they would be even cooler in your car. Dash Navigation is announcing today that it will make possible exactly such vehicular mashups (the Web kind, not the actual kind). Dash is developing a GPS navigation system for cars that will go on sale early next year. The device will collects data about traffic conditions from all other Dash drivers, and estimates how long alternative routes will take on any given day. Since they will be connected through a cellular data network to the Internet, all sorts of geo-tagged information can be pushed to the device and combined with the on-board maps. Everything from restaurants and open houses to concerts, gas, and golf courses could be sent to the Dash and appear there on the map.

Owners will be able to manage which mashups they receive through Dash’s Website. There, they will be able to drag feeds from sites like Platial, where they can create a Google Map of dog runs in San Francisco or yoga schools in LA. Link it to Zillow, and you will be able to get data on houses as you are driving around the neighborhood. Create a feed at Upcoming.org about all the rock concerts in your city or one of open houses from Craigslist, and you will be able to get the info in your car, along with how far away each place is. You will also be able to do a Yahoo Local search on the device for restaurants and it will return nearby results with ratings.
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