Waze is a GPS i Phone app that has a unique approach to navigation with its use of social networking elements to improve the experience of the daily commute. While other GPS apps merely provide driving directions, Waze goes one step further by encouraging its users to provide feedback on driving conditions. The idea is that with a combination of user-submitted reports and live speed data on users, Waze can help drivers get a sense of traffic conditions so that they can make better commuting decisions.
One of the first things that you'll notice on the map display is the dots scattered throughout. These dots can be “eaten” for points. As you drive over the dots, your car avatar turns into a Pac-Man-like character that munches on the dots. Waze relies on the power of the crowd to verify its maps so it uses points to “gamify” map verification. You don’t get anything in return for these points, but the intrinsic drive to compete for high points recognition does work as a motivator for many people. To further its social networking functions, Waze integrates with Foursquare so that you can check in to a location without needing to open the Foursquare app.
Of course, like with most crowdsourcing processes, its success is dependent on the size of the crowd. Waze doesn’t yet have a large enough user base to provide information that can be relied upon consistently, but during the rush-hour commute in a large city, there is often enough information for you to make an informed decision on a route to take. Other helpful bits of information are reports on accidents, traffic jams, and police traps. These come through alerts along with representation on the map.
Waze is still evolving and with a recent rewrite, its latest version is more responsive and sports an easier-to-use interface. There are versions of Waze for Android, Blackberry, and Nokia to ensure a large user base, but so far there are only 11 million users and from the looks of it, many of them are not very active.
The company definitely is working hard to make their app successful. Although they are not yet a well-known name in GPS apps, this could possibly change in a few years. They just need to make their app more compelling to use. Currently, the more popular GPS apps do a better job at providing directions and have more detailed maps. So Waze is not really a prime choice when you need reliable directions, but if you are needing live traffic data for your daily commute, Waze stands out. It has yet to have enough users in some cities to provide usable traffic data but sometimes when you’re stuck in traffic and you see a heavy traffic alert coming from another Waze user, the sympathy you may feel for an anonymous comrade can take the edge off of your own frustration.
Waze is available for free and does not yet have ads.
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