People buy GPS locators for one major reason — to find out where they are on that big, blue planet of ours.

Gadgets that talk to the network of Global Positioning Satellites orbiting the Earth are becoming cheap and ubiquitous. GPS features are turning up in everything from cell phones to cameras, but the most common use is in cars, where they are used to guide drivers to destinations.

But while most can get you from Points A to B, getting them set up can be a hassle. A new GPS designed for the car tries to fix that problem by connecting to the Net. The units can virtually collaborate to give near-real-time traffic input, even on side streets.

From the moment it was first announced by Dash Navigation in September 2006, the Dash Express automobile GPS system captured geeky drivers’ imagination — even before it was available. Billed as the first Internet-connected car GPS, it promised a

slew of cool features borne of connectivity.

Originally scheduled for release last summer, it finally started shipping in late March and sells for $299. In addition, its connected features require a subscription fee to access to network — $12.99 a month, or as low as $9.99 whether you pay in advance. The first three months of the service are free.

While the Dash isn’t the most expensive GPS you can buy, it’s additionally not the cheapest. You can get a perfectly good GPS for less than $200.

The decision you have to manufacture is whether the features made possible by connectivity are worth paying a premium for the hardware, along with subscription charges. whether you’ve got the cash to burn, I’d say yes, but with a big caveat.

While the Dash Express is one of the easiest GPS products I’ve tried, when it comes to what you really need…

Orginal post by Top Tech News