Watch Out Garmin: Dash Got $25 Mln in Cash

Garmin (GRMN), TomTom and Magellan are the leaders in the GPS-enabled navigational systems. But there's a tiny newcomer that's just got $25 million in cash. Dash Navigation raised $25 million in funding from marquee venture capital firms in Silicon Valley.

CEO Paul Lego tells me that the company plans to use a lot of those funds to help market the product nationally. Dash Navigation makes a stand-alone GPS navigation system that's always connected to the Internet.

Lego tells me that the difference between the "Dash," which is what the product is called, and services offered on mobile devices - like Telenav and Verizon's (VZ) Navigator - is that if a cellular connection drops, the mapping/location/directions information is downloaded or available on the Dash device. In this way, a person can always have access to the information. Additionally, if there isn't a cellular signal, Dash picks up the WiFi signals and will connect to the Internet via WiFi.

What about the difference between the Dash and a system offered by the popular Garmin , TomTom and Magellan? Those companies don't have systems that are always connected to the Internet, claims Lego. Now, for anyone interested in this device, it's going to be priced between $600 and $800 apiece, with a monthly subscription service of about $10 to $15 - the first few months will be free. It will be rolled out slowly with a national roll out in the fall.