The Queen of Hearts

Internet search and find -- from your car

Find yourself in an unfamiliar neighborhood and craving a freshly baked croissant?

Fear not!

Yahoo! and Dash Navigation have announced plans to combine online searches for local businesses with global positioning satellite (GPS) guidance systems for cars.

The Dash Express service -- to be rolled out in California in the spring and nationwide later in the year -- will enable users to search for local services or businesses from their car seats and then be guided to chosen destinations.

Yahoo! and Dash billed the alliance as a GPS industry first. The service will allow motorists or passengers to search by business names or related terms to glean local options from the internet.

For example, a Dash user that types "croissants" as a search query will get a list of bakeries, cafés and stores in the area that sell the pastry.A user could type "plumbing supplies" in the search box and be routed to nearby hardware stores.

"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," Dash chief executive Paul Lego said in a release. "It's that simple."

-- Sapa-AFP

Via: Mail and Guardian Online

posted by Queen of Hearts @ 05:46