GPS navigator to include Yahoo search

A GPS start-up plans to include Yahoo's local-search data in its navigation device for cars.

Other GPS (Global Positioning System) navigators also have built-in business directories, but Dash Navigation will be the first to integrate Yahoo Local Search into its device.

Owners of Dash Express navigators will be able to use the Internet-connected devices to search for local events, businesses, services and products via Yahoo Local Search, as well as reviews and ratings from other Yahoo users. Dash Navigation, a venture-backed company based in Mountain View, Calif., announced the deal Wednesday.

Deals with major Web players are nothing new in the market for high-tech car systems.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ford Motor will collaborate with Microsoft on a product called Sync. Sync will reportedly include a hands-free Bluetooth wireless system and an in-vehicle operating system that eventually will be an option for the entire Ford brand lineup. It will offer mobile-phone communication and enable other wireless information transfers in the car, including e-mail and music downloads.

The Dash Express navigator is set to go on sale in California in the spring and in the rest of the U.S. in the fall. The product and its Yahoo-equipped directory will be make a debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.