Waze – Community GPS navigation, traffic & road reports – iPhone App Review

Waze (Free)

Version – 1.3.0

REVIEW – “Social GPS with a twist!”

Ever since the release of the iPhone 3.0 OS there have been all kinds of GPS apps released for the iPhone.  There have been major GPS companies releasing real-time driving directions and smaller companies releasing apps that are designed to help you find your way on foot.  Waze has taken a simple concept and put a unique spin on it.  Waze is  “social” GPS network that gets its map data directly from its users.  The most obvious benefit of this is that it is free!

The interface of Waze is fairly simple.  When you open it up you have the main map screen in the center, and a menu bar across the top and the bottom.  The map can be viewed in two different modes: 2D or 3D.  Looking around the map is as easy as touching and dragging the map around, while zooming can be done by touching the “+” and “-“ buttons in the upper left and right corners of the map.

The menu at the bottom of the screen has several buttons that allow you to center in on your current location, set your destination, get live info on traffic/events that are near your current location and report events that you see.  This system allows you to see all kinds of information on current traffic and things such as accidents, police, speed cams, and traffic jams.

The directions that this app gives are not terrible, but they are not quite as good as most dedicated GPS apps that you can currently buy on the market.  I tried entering in a few addresses of newer homes in the area and several of them were not available.  I also had a little bit of trouble with the address search hanging up on me a few times.  If; however, this app manages to gain mass adoption the directions should improve a lot as the app gains information about which routes are the quickest.

One of my favorite features of this app is it’s “pac-man” mode.  Since Waze’s maps are dependent on user information the developers decided to give users “points” for going down roads that have not been traveled much with this app yet.  You can even find different items such as cherries that will give you extra bonus points if you search around.  I took a friend for a ride and we had a blast hunting for items and getting “points.”  While the points aren’t really worth anything, they’re still a lot of fun to accumulate.

At the top of the screen you will find most of the customization options of Waze.  The little wrench icon brings up the “Settings” menu which is full of all kinds of options like whether you view a 2D or 3D map, how the app behaves in relation to routing, your profile, etc.  Right next to the wrench is a star button that will bring down a display of how many points you have.

To sum it all up, this app is probably not ready as a complete GPS replacement app.  As of now the directions are rarely ideal.  If; however, you are looking for a fun scavenger hunt you might find it interesting.  Over time, and with a lot of user input, this app could end up being one of the most accurate ones available though.  It’s also hard to dispute with the price of “free” for a GPS app with text-to-speech directions.  If you are on a budget and looking for a serious GPS app, I would at least give this one a try as I’m sure more populous areas are probably more accurate.

- David H.

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Developer – Waze, Inc.

URL: http://www.waze.com/homepage/

DEVELOPERS NOTES

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© 2009, Davidh. All rights reserved.