Yahoo! Local Search in your ride

Dash Navigation has announced today that the Dash Express (launching this quarter) will use Yahoo! Local Search to find items of interest and services/businesses in the area to which you are in. They claim this is a first for the GPS industry.

From the release:

With Yahoo! Local and Dash Express, local search in the car is becoming a simple and easy-to-use reality. When a user enters their search term into their Dash Express, the device wirelessly begins a Yahoo! Local search on the web. Within seconds, the results are formatted into address cards and presented to the user as a simple listing of nearby businesses. With the press of a button on the device, the Dash user is routed to their desired destination.

Yahoo! Local also allows drivers to use a wide variety of search terms to get relevant results. For example, a Dash user who types "croissants" will see a list of bakeries, cafes and stores in the area that sell the pastry. Another Dash user who discovers that the local hardware store is out of a needed plumbing item could type "plumbing supplies" from their car in the parking lot and see a list of other nearby stores with directions to each location. In many cases, relevant Yahoo! Local ratings and reviews are also presented to offer users instant feedback from other consumers about merchants and services.

"When you use Yahoo! Local search in your car, you will be amazed by the freedom that it delivers," said Dash Navigation Chief Executive Officer, Paul Lego. "For the first time, drivers will be able to leave their homes knowing that they can easily find whatever they need — right from their car. It's that simple."

"Yahoo! is committed to providing innovative ways to help consumers find relevant information when, where and how they want it," said Paul Levine, general manager of Yahoo! Local. "Working with Dash takes us one step closer to that goal and provides consumers with another meaningful and relevant way to interact with our products."

I think we will continue to see GPS in-car devices get smarter and smarter this year. They are no more just "turn left 1 mile" but will be able to become personalized to your likes. If you like jelly donuts, it will tell you when the next DD or KK is coming. If you like the GAP, it will tell you that too. We will also see personal GPS devices coming into real form this year.