New competition for Garmin and TomTom hit the GPS market today in the form of the Dash Express. While the Dash offers many, if not most of the features of the offerings from Garmin and TomTom it also bring some new features to the market that will interest both drivers as well as advertisers.
For the driver, the Dash brings the advantage of real time traffic updates. While previous GPS units have largely been unable to recognize traffic jams on your route, the Dash aims to correct this by using internet connections built into the units to build a network of traffic monitors that can relay traffic information real time to other Dash units. So, if the route you want to take shows up as red, then other Dash units are stuck in a traffic jam there, making it easier to find an alternate route.
This internet connectivity also presents a unique opportunity for advertisers to present locally targeted ads, based on their drivers routes. While local businesses have presumably been able to buy listings on the software pre-loaded in non-connected devices, the connectivity now presents the opportunity for advertisers to customize their ads based on seasonality, product availability, time of day, and potentially even the demographic information on the registrant of the unit.
While the Dash service now derives its revenue on the sale of the unit and a monthly subscription, with unit data relayed to the network anonymously, one can only wonder how long it takes for someone (i.e. Google) to begin offering a free ad-based service for those willing to forego personal information for cheaper gas or discount slim-jims on their next road trip.
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