Has WAZE taken over your driving?

[atlkr5]

Ok, so I see this free app called Waze.

So what is Waze?

"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!"
(www.waze.com)

Now this waze has become an addiction and as I drive I look for every chance I can to turn off the beaten path to gather and discover what is over there.

I am no stranger to maps and navigation, but Waze adds a totally different experience to just driving home from work.

WARNING! I have been late for every appointment I go to, due to "Road Munching," keep it clean!

The app is great, fun, and you can even add to the maps with any corrections, traffic updates and conditions.

Beat of all we need more Android users to over take the IOS, and Android Central has told us about the Contest for the top users, a Samsung Tablet.

So you cant loose, give it shot.

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

So it's basically Google Maps Navigation?

Google Maps has had all of this in it for quite a while now, including showing existing traffic, automatically reporting the traffic you're in live, and its maps are so accurate by now that it doesn't need its user to correct it often (and even then you can report issues if you really need to). It even collects traffic/accident reports from various sources like ARTEMIS where I live (Cincinnati OH), so users don't need to report it.

Frankly, it's almost as if they directly ripped off Google and claimed these features as their own.

 

[kenyee]

Not quite the same as Google Maps:
Main Page - waze

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

Linking to the main page of Waze doesn't explain anything. From what I read and saw on their site, it is very much a ripoff of Google Maps, except it requires people to manually report traffic conditions.

 

[atlkr5]

I spend more time looking at the Waze while I am driving the looking at the road.

It is not intended to be like or take the place of Google Maps, but rather a fun map/geocacheing, social, achievement environment.

I enjoy using it and though you would too, so try it if you like.

I dont work for the company nor do I gain any royalty, just simple sharing.

 

[sanibel]

I found it unsafe (similar to texting while driving), inaccurate and annoying. My 2 cents.

 

[davidnc]

I don't think it's any more dangerous then any GPS guidance device.

No action is required unless you want to

Sent Using TaPaTalk

 

[GensBB]

Making a nav app into a game is counter productive, dangerous and stupid IMO.

 

[broadwayblues]

I use this to send traffic reports (using text-to-talk) and speed trap reports from the road. It is also neat to see other Waze users on the road. It is far from perfect and I think that it is still in Beta, but it allows users to correct errors in Google Maps (Like routing the wrong way down a one-way street) and actually map roads that are not on the map. In theory, if enough people used it, and some of them were active, then the maps would be much more accurate than Google Maps.

As it stands now, it is a fun way to earn points and help the devs. Some of us are suckers for leaderboards.

 

[Caitlyn McKenzie]

I don't think it's any more dangerous then any GPS guidance device.

No action is required unless you want to

Sent Using TaPaTalk

But any interaction they advertise would require you to look away from the road. Thus, its entire purpose hinges on something that isn't safe.

That's why Google Maps does all of this automatically, so you don't need to worry about it. And as far as the achievement/social bit, just use Foursquare and check in when you arrive.

 

[AbeFrohman]

On the fence

I liked the idea of the user-generated traffic, but I haven't found that there are enough users to generate useful information.

The game aspect? No way. I'm trying to get somewhere, not drive around to "earn" meaningless points, wasting gas and time.

I find myself launching it less and less when I'm driving around.

 

[Xterror]

I only used it to try to win the galaxy tab to an android central user. I also think it's a dangerous app. I kept wanting to look at it more and more while driving. I never came close to having an accident, but it crossed my mind every time. I tried using it to navigate me to an address and it kept telling me to exit on streets that didn't have freeway exits. I passed my exit on purpose to see how it would redirect and the it kept telling me tu turn left on bridges I would go under while on the freeway. Meanwhile the whole ride I had my wife's droid on google maps which was faster and 100% accurate even redirecting after passing the exit. I also tried other features on it like reporting where cops were but I didn't think it was as easy as it should. Deff a beta app. Will not use as often as I thought I would

 

[deercreek]

I thought about installing it for the contest, but I've been really impressed with how well Google Maps has worked for navigation, and I'm not into the whole game idea. I've got Geocaching for that.

 

[Zindoh]

Anyone elses device reboot if you have Waze open and recieve a phone call??

 

[KingDroid57]

I have to say "It depends". I have been using waze on and off for several months now. It's main advantage is in high traffic areas with plenty of Wazers. Typically during a commute to or from work.The alerts for accidents, police roadblocks, and road hazzards are something you dont get in Google.Sometimes I will use both Waze and Google Maps and let them fight it out!

 

[DrewDT]

I've been looking at it as more of a curiosity. It isn't at the point yet where it could replace my Garmin GPS. Here are some features it absolutely needs in version 3.0:

Would like to see the nav list return (This feature is a must and should not have been removed, it was in version 2. A tap on top of the screen where the next turn icon is would be a good place to activate this feature.);
Show speed limits for roads I'm on (I like knowing the speed limit especially on roads where the signs aren't prevalent, this feature is available on my Garmin);
Ability to organize favorites (Having one long list of favorites is cumbersome, having subfolders with user definable categories is a must);
Ability to choose to be alerted only for incidents on my specific route as a default. (Showing incidents everywhere around me is not useful if I'm not going to be driving those roads on my current route.)

This would be a good start and would probably make me more comfortable leaving my dedicated GPS home.

 

[Simon_y7]

I found Waze used widely in Europe and Middle East with no complaints. Its usefulness grows geometrically when there are thousands of people using it.

 

[jean15paul]

I use waze everyday for my commute. I love it for speed trap and hazard notification. But it's navigation is pretty poor. It definitely has a preference for major highways and the interstate even when that's not the fastest or most direct route. I would not rely on waze for navigation if I didn't already know where I was going. And the other content (like any community provided content) is highly dependent on if there are enough people in your area that are contributing. Fortunately, in my area there are; Waze has saved me hundreds of dollars in speeding tickets.

 

[kamtsa]

Tried it once but found it be too noisy and distracting. Nice concept though and if people are enjoying the participation and sharing aspects, power to them.

 

[Simon_y7]

Outside Tel Aviv, I rode with a guy who punched in the address of the restaurant we're going to and we're there exactly at the arrival time, down to the minute. Waze also clearly showed traffic slowdowns and allowed him to navigate around. I was very impressed. But, again, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of users contributing information. Btw, I tried there Google Navigation, but it had no maps.