Free "Social" GPS for iPhone/Android -WAZE

[biggy7]

Free "Social" GPS for iPhone/Android

Waze is a social mobile application providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road.
100% powered by users, the more you drive, the better it gets. Join the community of drivers in your area today!

The UK is still in "building stage" which means drivers are currently "building" the GPS network. After this stage, the data will become reliable as more and more users submit data, and others can benefit by using this data. The system also appears to remember traffic flows to help you avoid unnecessary delays to your journey.

http://world.waze.com/

This could be interested.

[x_Mr_C_x]

I've been using this for a few weeks now and it is very promising.
As a navigation system it is pretty useless at the moment as most of the roads are missing from it. Roads have to be added by users by driving along them and pressing a button. If they can get more people using it and updating it I think it will be pretty good.

The traffic reporting side of it seems well done. If you are sat in traffic crawling along at 2mph it automatically reports it so other people in your area will get a traffic warning. You can also manually post warnings such as police, accidents and even roadkill!

As the community for it grows, its usefulness will improve. At the moment I tend to start it up, set it to record roads and then background it and switch to co-pilot for navigation.

[richibeno]

what a great idea,

[funkyg]

I've got this last night had a play with it, it could be really good with enough people on board.

[stimpy]

Having a play with this now, mapping a few roads around me. It could turn out to be pretty impressive once it's all mapped.

[MsDG]

I thought I would give this thread a bump as its worth highlighting this App again. Things seem to have moved on somewhat in the last 3 years. It seems to be a impressive free GPS app... with people even posting live reports of where the Rozzers are hanging out!

[GTI]

I thought I would give this thread a bump as its worth highlighting this App again. Things seem to have moved on somewhat in the last 3 years. It seems to be a impressive free GPS app... with people even posting live reports of where the Rozzers are hanging out!

I use it daily for my hour long commute to/from work.
Its surprising how community-minded some people are... risking life and limb to type reports on their smartphones whilst whizzing up the highway

[gazza341]

I installed this a while back, but forgot all about it - used tomtom for journeys.
I've just installed it and it looks ACE - I'll be trying this out for my trips in future


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BigBrand]

Forgot about this, so downloaded now and will see how I get on!

[dpSparhawk]

It's a very useful app for on the fly traffic news. With a couple of taps people can highlight a congested area etc.

Knowing where the police are is always a bonus I suppose.

[beansontoast]

I tried it for a bit a couple of years ago. I was using it for the traffic updates, the only downside was it needed a data connection all of the time & there are a few black spots on the way to work. Maybe that's changed now? I also drove over a few sweets

[stevo25]

tried it about an hour ago, will not run on my htc sensation with custom rom

[greens117]

Might have a look at this as traffic on my tomtom seems hit and miss

[Wizzo]

Google seals Waze app sat-nav takeover


In a bid to outsmart traffic, Google has bought the crowd-sourced navigation app Waze, a Tel Aviv-based start-up.


The search giant reportedly paid $1.3bn (£835m), according to Reuters, although the firm did not disclose the financial terms for the deal.


The Waze app combines online maps with updates from other users about traffic jams, road works and accidents.


It is believed that Facebook and Apple were also interested in purchasing the Israeli firm.


The takeover could help Google improve the accuracy of its own navigation system, Google Maps.


A statement on Google's official blog said the Waze team and current users had "created a great source of timely road corrections and updates".


The app essentially turns a smartphone into a web community-based GPS device, bringing elements of a social network into an online mapping service, to produce more precise directions and better information about traffic conditions.


Waze was founded four years ago, and now has 47 million users worldwide. The company's chief executive Noam Bardin and a few employees are based in Waze's US headquarters in Palo Alto, California, but the majority of the staff - about 90 employees - are in Israel.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22864712

[BigBrand]

Anyone a user?

I fucking love this app!

[stevo25]

yes i use it and have done for about 18 months, great for local traffic info

[Wizzo]

Been in Thailand for the past 7 weeks and been using it to drive about and it's worked a treat. Can't fault it at all.

[stimpy]

I use it all the time now. It's performed a few miracles recently, it diverted me off the M6 after a nasty accident. 4 hour tailbacks were reported and I ended up ten minutes late.

Brilluant piece of software.

[mr_fuse]

Thanks for bringing this thread back up its reminded me to give it a go again.

[BigBrand]

It's very good, although simplistic. I actually prefer it to Google Maps on my S4, although the alternative routing is better on the Maps than WAZE for some reason.