SvenOnTech has just learned that start-up GPS maker, Dash Navigation, will announce major changes today. Reports are that two-thirds of its work force, including founder and CEO, Paul Lego, will be issued pink slips. Further, former COO and newly named CEO Rob Currie has said that the Dash Express until will be discontinued as the company realigns itself and focuses on business-to-business sales.
“It’s clear that consumers love the benefits of connected navigation – from up-to-the minute traffic information to live search – as it helps them save time every day,” said Rob Currie, new CEO of Dash Navigation. “Given the current economic environment, we believe that the greatest opportunities lie in integrating our service into the broad array of connected devices on the market.”
SvenOnTech reviewed the Dash Express last summer and with an overall high rating, just could not get past the high hardware price of the unit coupled with the subscription fee. With larger companies such as Garmin and TomTom selling its wares at a one-time price to customers from Wal-mart to Amazon.com, Dash obviously had a difficult time selling its “pay a lot now…and then keep paying” model. SvenOnTech recommended in the review that hardware prices should be slashed or the subscription fee brought down significantly. Unfortunately for Dash, it did not make these changes and now the fate of the company may be doomed.
According to sources, Dash has enough capitol to make it through 2009. All current Dash users will continue to receive service and updates at least until the end of next year. Like the failed subscription-based DVD competitor, DIVX, of mid-nineties, Dash users may have a useless piece of hardware by 2010 if Dash is unable to make revenue in the positive side of the Net Income column.
Dash CEO Currie believes with the development of two-way radios in current cars and the explosion of 3G and GPS enabled smartphones, Dash will be able to successfully sale its unique product to many manufactures in the coming year. With the lackluster of well designed and made GPS units in most of todays automobiles, this would be a great opportunity for Dash and for buyers of new cars. This success will also benefit current Dash Express users with continued software updates to their units.
Does a GPS with a constant connection to the Internet make it the best way to travel in your car? Can it find the lowest gas prices, the nearest Starbucks, an ATM near your friends home, and the best pizza joint in town? Will it show you how to get to work quicker than you have ever made it before IN traffic? Does the volume setting of 11 make it that much better than anything else available?
Yes, we know so many questions to be answered but we think we do a pretty good job of answering those and even more with the newest craze hitting cars across the country in this new GPS unit. An Internet enabled GPS device that taps into Yahoo! Local and lets you send your addresses from within your web browser on your computer to your Dash Express sitting silently on your, um, dash.
Now, is it all worth it? Read on.
Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices (SHC) is expanding its portfolio of WiMAX subscriber devices with an Express Card. The Gigaset SE68 WiMAX Express Card makes it easy for users to get broadband access via computer even on the road. The card is based on the IEEE 802.16-2005 standard, complies with the Wave 2 specifications, including MIMO (Multiple Input / Multiple Output) A and B, and supports beamforming. SHC demonstrates the card live at the WiMAX Forum Congress Asia in Singapore.
The Express Card Gigaset SE68 WiMAX permits mobile broadband access at up to 20 Mbps and thus enables the use of very rich media and data applications on the road. As a result, it increases mobility and flexibility for professional and private users alike.
Gigaset SE68 WiMAX complies with the Wave 2 specifications and therefore offers optimal capacity, throughput and network coverage. The card will be available in the summer of 2008 supporting the 2.5 and 3.5 GHz frequency bands. It supports the computer’s idle mode, thus reducing battery consumption. The Express Card can also be operated via a USB 2.0 port or a PC Card port with the aid of an adapter. The enclosed CD ensures simple installation of the software and guides users in a few easy steps through the set-up process.
“The Gigaset SE68 WiMAX Express Card is a perfect fit for our existing WiMAX portfolio, which comprises a data modem, a VoIP modem and two gateways with an extensive range of data and voice functionalities. With this extended portfolio we can better address our customers’ needs for flexibility and freedom of choice,” said Dr. Marc Achhammer, Senior Vice President and Head of WiMAX at Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices.
Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices GmbH & Co KG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG. The company, with its headquarters in Munich, focuses on the design, development, manufacturing and distribution of a range of high-quality products under the brand Siemens Gigaset, including classic cordless and fixed-network phones, Voice over IP devices, routers, gateways and software solutions. The portfolio also includes WIMAX devices as well as home media products such as set-top boxes. The company operates worldwide. Its primary production site is in Bocholt, Germany, where the Gigaset products are developed and manufactured under the most stringent quality and environmental standards.
Even in our small office, a central scanner has become a need more than ever. Sure, you can hook up a scanner to a computer and scan from it and send the file to a file server but I’d like to skip that process and have the scanner itself send the scan to the server…or to an e-mail address, or a fax. Well, IKON Office Solutions today announced its DocAccel Express and my dreams are realized in this server-based product. While not a new concept (high-grade scanners have had this for some time), IKON’s offering is somewhat affordable for the SOHO environment starting at $600.
“Too much paper in any organization can slow information exchange, take up valuable floor space with extra cabinets and add to the cost of filing, copying, paper handling and shipping,” explains Bill Carpou, Vice President of Marketing for North America, IKON Office Solutions. “IKON DocAccel Express is a terrific solution for environments that want to better leverage their equipment to reduce paper and automate business processes, but may not require the full functionality of a complete document management system.”
DocAccel will run on HP, Kyocera Mita, Ricoh (GlobalScan & SDK/J), Sharp (OSA), and Xerox (WorkCentre Pro) MFPs. Users can email via SMTP or Microsoft Exchange server. LAN Fax server support includes Captaris RightFax and can release images to shared folders or FTP, personal computer, Microsoft SharePoint or IBM Lotus Domino servers.
D-Link today announced immediate availability of smaller form factor notebook ExpressCard(tm) adapters and desktop PCI Express adapters to take advantage of the latest draft 802.11n wireless network technology.
The D-Link Xtreme N( Notebook ExpressCard (DWA-643) is designed for notebooks now being sold by major brands such as Dell(, HP(, Toshiba(r), Gateway(r) and others offering users an easy upgrade to the future of wireless technology. For desktop PCs, D-Link now offers the DWA-556 Xtreme N PCI Express (PCIe) draft 802.11n desktop adapter “Our new ExpressCard and PCIe adapters provide further support to our customers who are purchasing the latest computers to hit the market, either desktop or laptop. Both bring wireless connectivity to the next level, allowing users to enjoy the best network performance possible,” said Brian Larsen, associate vice president of product development for D-Link Systems, Inc. “Combined with improved performance of draft 11n wireless technology, our newest Xtreme N adapters deliver strong connections for computers on the home network and improved throughput for running bandwidth intensive applications such as streaming media and online gaming.”
Both adapters are powered with the lightning speeds and greater range of connectivity made possible by the latest draft of the wireless networking standard, 802.11n. The smaller slots equipped on the newer-generation notebooks and desktops are designed for all future industry-standard wired and wireless ExpressCards and PCIe adapters.
“D-Link just keeps upping the 802.11n ante,” said the editors of Laptop Magazine, which recently gave the Xtreme N Gigabit router (DIR-655) their prestigious Editors’ Choice award for its superior speed, range and overall application of the draft 802.11n technology. Target PC reviewers wrote: “the DIR-655 is by far one of the most advanced and feature-packed routers on today’s market.”
Designed for use in larger homes and offices or for multiple bandwidth-intensive applications, the DWA-556 desktop adapter features three external antennas to provide higher performance than 802.11g technology while maintaining backward compatibility to 802.11g and 802.11b networks. Both adapters are designed to enhance network communications by allowing high-definition media streaming, file sharing, enhanced Internet phone calling (VoIP) and Web surfing. They also support advanced network security encryption (WEP, WPA(tm) or WPA2(tm)) and come with D-Link’s Quick Adapter Setup Wizard software.
Both the DWA-556 and DWA-643 are now available through D-Link’s network of retail stores, online outlets and company store, www.dlinkshop.com, for the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $149.99 and $119.99, respectively. More information about the products can be obtained at the D-Link website, www.dlink.com, and by tuning into D-LinkTV.
eBay Express is available in the US, Germany and the UK. eBay Express is a new listing service for outstanding eBay sellers with excellent ratings, that want to sell new items for a fixed price. Qualified iSale users who want to take advantage of eBay Express can choose from within the application to list their items exclusively on eBay Express, or as an additional platform alongside their main eBay listing. The iSale Preview option has been modified to switch between the eBay Preview and the eBay Express Preview. With this enhancement keeping track of all listings can’t get more comfortable for every eBay seller.
iSale 3.3 now includes a total of 95 unique templates, that enable users to create visually stunning auctions to complement their items. The latest Template Pack 9 includes 10 designs for eBay’s popular Home & Garden category. An overview of all templates can be found on the equinux website. Read the rest of this entry »