Sunnyvale (CA) – Dash Navigation today said that its GPRS-equipped navigation device is now available for pre-order and is scheduled for a “mid-to-late February” delivery.

Compared to regular GPS devices, the Dash Express is able to maintain a continuous Internet connection via Wi-Fi or cellular GPRS networks.

As a result, the Dash does not draw POI (points of interest) information from a database stored on the device itself, but retrieves data about people, places, products and services from Yahoo’s local search service. This allows the Dash to provide a deeper level of detail, which, for example, also includes gas prices and movie times.

The GPS also displays up-to-the-minute traffic data that is automatically and anonymously exchanged among Dash devices. The manufacturer said that the Dash Express gathers traffic information from the “Dash Driver Network” and combines it with other sources of traffic data to deliver an “accurate picture of what's happening on the routes [the user] is travelling.”

Other features include a capability to send an address from any Internet browser or Microsoft Outlook and to the device in the car, even when the car is already on the road and on its way to a destination.

The Dash Express is priced at $600 and comes with three months of free Internet service.  The service is priced at $13 per month thereafter or at $11 per month if it is paid one year in advance or at $10 per month if it is paid two years in advance.     

The manufacturer said that the device will aim for a “broader retail distribution in Q2 2008”.        

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