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Yandex Maps do that, like, forever by letting users to mark accidents, road works and other events on the road as they drive - for fellow drivers to see. Works pretty fine and sometimes even a bit socially.
At least from this announcement, it's not merely a defensive acquisition. Google is looking forward to integrate the user-based realtime traffic system from Waze into Google Map. I am a little surprised that whatever Waze provides now wasn't a complete overlap with what Google Map is also offering in its trafic related functionalities.
I was under the impression that Google Maps already used crowdsourced data for its traffic? I use it in the UK and it's incredibly accurate - scarily so!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This will allow more specific user information, like which lane is blocked up or " eople can report accidents, traffic jams, speed traps, police and can update roads, landmarks, house numbers, etc." From the Waze wikipedia page.
Thanks for the clarification. But now that I think about it, when I'm walking out of the office, I want to know whether I should take "Route A", "Route B" or "Route C" to get home. What causes the traffic whether it is construction, an accident or plain old traffic doesn't matter to me. I wish Google Now (GN) would tell me that instead of me having to double check by clicking the alternate routes button in navigation…
No, but knowing about what is causing the traffic can (if the analytics get advanced enough) make it easier for the central service to determine what the likely impact in the future (e.g., by the time you get to it) is likely to be, which is important.
What do others think about the safety of using Waze? One thing that I have noticed is that the app encourages me to interact with it as I'm driving in order to add data to the system. It's a little hypocritical of me to complain about this because sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do, but it still feels weird that Waze actually encourages me to read the screen and interact with…
How far off is widespread adoption of self-driving cars vs lifespan of a company / product? Waze may be obsolete before self-driving cars make the core function obsolete.
I used Waze for the first time last week on a long drive across the mid-South. With self-driving cars on a long haul I can see the social function becoming the primary function.
At least when one is _driving_ one has something to keep one's mind occupied. Passengers on a long-haul only have books, music, games, sing-alongs, naps, and other tomfoolery to keep themselves entertained.
What do others think about the safety of using Waze? One thing that I have noticed is that the app encourages me to interact with it as I'm driving in order to add data to the system. It's a little hypocritical of me to complain about this because sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do, but it still feels weird that Waze actually encourages me to read the screen and interact with…
sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do I don't mean to pick on you here. You are clearly aware, but it still needs to be said: Please do not email, text, or even talk on a cell phone while driving. Driving is the most dangerous task that is socially acceptable for nonprofessionals to perform. It is very irresponsible to make such a task any more difficult than it needs to be.
Great for Waze, good for Google, but I feel like a lot of the value (from Google's perspective) is stopping Apple (or FB) getting Waze.
Maybe FB, but not Apple. It's just not the right fit for Apple.
I found that the traffic data on Google Navigation was much more accurate and up to date than that provided by Waze, and that Google Nav's display is much easier on the eyes. Waze showed more information, but most of it was irrelevant noise or just plain wrong. All of the social stuff was also very distracting.
This was when I was commuting daily on one of the UKs busiest motorways.
Also, they send your login details in the clear. I remember taking a traffic dump of my Android phone to see how easy it would be to scrape information at the time... Not that difficult.
Great news for both Google Maps and Waze. From my understanding, Waze negotiated a 3 year period where they would be allowed to continue independently, but I imagine there will be quite a bit of data sharing between the two (Waze can now use Google's maps and POI data, and Google can use Waze's data to improve its realtime directions)
I'll bet you that Waze won't exist as a separate app/product in 3 years. I hope it does, but I doubt that Google are going to maintain two separate navigation apps.
Revenue - no idea if or how much money they made? IP - Patents on using location to perform traffic analytics? Talent - 100+ employees? Userbase - ~50 million users? Technology - Isn't the app easily replicable?
It's really confusing for entrepreneurs to know if they are building something of value when we can't discern how these companies are being valued!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
sometimes I text or check email while driving, which I know I should not do I don't mean to pick on you here. You are clearly aware, but it still needs to be said: Please do not email, text, or even talk on a cell phone while driving. Driving is the most dangerous task that is socially acceptable for nonprofessionals to perform. It is very irresponsible to make such a task any more difficult than it needs to be.
IMO only when this is treated like DUI will it be taken more seriously. It sounds radical, but the activity is easily avoidable, seriously diminishes your focus and can have horrible consequences.