Mobile OSs Google to acquire WAZE?

[gto55]

Apple should use their cash not to let Google increase their already huge advance in cartography... and buying WAZE is one of the mean to do so imho

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/24/another-google-waze-rumour/

 

[maflynn]

The report you linked indicates its an unsubstantiated rumor, one group of people in the know saying Google is, and another set refuting it.

Apple did try to buy them but that fell through.

 

[gto55]

The report you linked indicates its an unsubstantiated rumor, one group of people in the know saying Google is, and another set refuting it.

Apple did try to buy them but that fell through.

don't you think that WAZE will finally be acquired by a big company (google, yahoo, apple, facebook, microsoft or else...) ?

 

[maflynn]

don't you think that WAZE will finally be acquired by a big company (google, yahoo, apple, facebook, microsoft or else...) ?

Perhaps, that seems to be the way of these small start ups. They gain a level of popularity and the larger companies think they can leverage such products/services.

All I'm saying is the article says its going to happen and its not going to happen. If google is buying Waze, they're playing very close to the vest at the moment.

 

[spinedoc77]

Waze is freakin awesome, I use it every single day on my way to work, and back home for a long commute. I'm very surprised none of the large companies thought to crowdsource their navigation. Really this goes beyond navigation, it's more of a screen that's open all the time when you are driving, it's an incredible opportunity for advertising (although too much can ruin it).

I certainly hope Google does in fact acquire it, they seem to be pretty generous with giving iOS google maps/navigation all the nice features so I'm sure this won't be much different. I would hate to see Facebook buy them.

 

[zbarvian]

Waze is freakin awesome, I use it every single day on my way to work, and back home for a long commute. I'm very surprised none of the large companies thought to crowdsource their navigation. Really this goes beyond navigation, it's more of a screen that's open all the time when you are driving, it's an incredible opportunity for advertising (although too much can ruin it).

I certainly hope Google does in fact acquire it, they seem to be pretty generous with giving iOS google maps/navigation all the nice features so I'm sure this won't be much different. I would hate to see Facebook buy them.

Does it replace a normal turn-by-turn app like Google Maps?

 

[ppeyton1143]

facebook was trying to aquire WAZE,
now, google has also jumped in just to stop facebook from aquiring it, google wants to stay number one in the maps category and for that reason they are squashing potential rivals

 

[spinedoc77]

Does it replace a normal turn-by-turn app like Google Maps?

Absolutely, it has a full blown navigation system that I've found to be as accurate as any other one I've used. That's just a side benefit though IMO, as WHILE you navigate you still have the crowd sourced stuff going on as well, the traffic alerts, the police alerts, safety, accidents, seeing other users, etc etc. It's really quite powerful once you start using it, and I don't even touch Google maps or Apple maps anymore because if I navigate with them I lose the crowdsourcing aspect.

 

[2298754]

GMaps is a better NAV app IMO. They really don't need WAZE, but I'm sure they just want to buy WAZE, so the competition doesn't have them.

It would be interesting to see Apple and Google get into a huge bidding war over it. They both have excess cash to throw around anyways.

 

[zbarvian]

Absolutely, it has a full blown navigation system that I've found to be as accurate as any other one I've used. That's just a side benefit though IMO, as WHILE you navigate you still have the crowd sourced stuff going on as well, the traffic alerts, the police alerts, safety, accidents, seeing other users, etc etc. It's really quite powerful once you start using it, and I don't even touch Google maps or Apple maps anymore because if I navigate with them I lose the crowdsourcing aspect.

Oh wow. I'll have to download that and try it out. Maybe this would be a good competitive buy for Google or Apple.

 

[spinedoc77]

GMaps is a better NAV app IMO. They really don't need WAZE, but I'm sure they just want to buy WAZE, so the competition doesn't have them.

It would be interesting to see Apple and Google get into a huge bidding war over it. They both have excess cash to throw around anyways.

I'm curious what makes it better in your opinion. I spend a LOT of time on the road, enough where I actually sit there and compare Apple maps, Waze, google maps (and others like Navigon) on a daily basis just to see which is more accurate. Besides the accuracy though Waze just has so much more functionality it's nuts. I know I sound like a fanboy, but waze has just impressed me so much with how useful it is in every day driving.

 

[MuffCabbage]

Waze is legit. Its UI is clunky, but other than that and a few other things, I love it. Im hoping to get into the Windows Phone Beta.

Cop alerts are the best part

 

[beaniemyman]

facebook was trying to aquire WAZE,
now, google has also jumped in just to stop facebook from aquiring it, google wants to stay number one in the maps category and for that reason they are squashing potential rivals

yeah i also heard that facebook is trying to acquire WAZE.
WAZE lags, it's slow, it doesn't have many features, i don't understand why facebook and google wanna buy it.

 

[blitzer09x87]

yeah i also heard that facebook is trying to acquire WAZE.
WAZE lags, it's slow, it doesn't have many features, i don't understand why facebook and google wanna buy it.

agreed, i dont think anyone uses WAZE anymore, why'd big companies like google want to buy it?

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Waze is the absolute best with real time traffic. Nothing else comes close. This is mainly due to user input and Waze tracking user speed and etc.

Waze should revamp it's maps/UI away from the cartoonish look. It was cute at first, but that appeal has gone.

 

[mattopotamus]

Waze is the absolute best with real time traffic. Nothing else comes close. This is mainly due to user input and Waze tracking user speed and etc.

Waze should revamp it's maps/UI away from the cartoonish look. It was cute at first, but that appeal has gone.

I think Waze could cause accidents haha. People trying to update a speed trap and them BAM...car wreck. It actually does the opposite of what you want out of GPS IMO, and it encourages you to interact with it while driving

 

[spinedoc77]

yeah i also heard that facebook is trying to acquire WAZE.
WAZE lags, it's slow, it doesn't have many features, i don't understand why facebook and google wanna buy it.

That's not true at all, unless you are using it on a 5 year old phone or something. No lag at all on my ip5 or my note 2, which is the phones I've used it on. As a navigation tool it has less features than apple or google maps, but it is still VERY robust IMO, there is not much if anything at all I miss from google/apple maps at all and not anything I can think of off the top of my head. I think Waze is a little weak on location searches, ie; what restaurants are around me.

But the concept of crowdsourcing "information" you may need while driving is absolutely incredible IMO, but this is coming from someone who commutes 3-4 hours 6 days a week so YMMV. I honestly cannot drive without having Waze open in front of me.

 

[Stuntman06]

Waze is freakin awesome, I use it every single day on my way to work, and back home for a long commute. I'm very surprised none of the large companies thought to crowdsource their navigation. Really this goes beyond navigation, it's more of a screen that's open all the time when you are driving, it's an incredible opportunity for advertising (although too much can ruin it).

I certainly hope Google does in fact acquire it, they seem to be pretty generous with giving iOS google maps/navigation all the nice features so I'm sure this won't be much different. I would hate to see Facebook buy them.

I use it every day on my commute, too. I hope Google does acquire Waze, so they can get rid of Bing search. I want Google search on Waze.

Does it replace a normal turn-by-turn app like Google Maps?

Turn by turn are just as good on Waze as it is on Google Maps.

GMaps is a better NAV app IMO. They really don't need WAZE, but I'm sure they just want to buy WAZE, so the competition doesn't have them.

It would be interesting to see Apple and Google get into a huge bidding war over it. They both have excess cash to throw around anyways.

I'm curious what makes it better in your opinion. I spend a LOT of time on the road, enough where I actually sit there and compare Apple maps, Waze, google maps (and others like Navigon) on a daily basis just to see which is more accurate. Besides the accuracy though Waze just has so much more functionality it's nuts. I know I sound like a fanboy, but waze has just impressed me so much with how useful it is in every day driving.

I find that Waze provides better routes through traffic than Google Maps. I have discovered a few better routes using Waze. Also, if the traffic conditions change, Waze will inform you that there is a better route and reroute you automatically. It also informs you of any traffic or collision on your route. Google Maps doesn't do this. The traffic information that Waze provides is also better. It tells you the speed of traffic on various routes. I'm not talking about just colour coding. It tells you how fast in km/h how fast the traffic is moving. The information is also easier to see while driving.

I also find that the default zoom level on Waze is more to my liking. When using Google Maps, I keep having to adjust the zoom level every time I use it. Just my personal preference, but I am much happier with the default zoom level in Waze.

Waze is the absolute best with real time traffic. Nothing else comes close. This is mainly due to user input and Waze tracking user speed and etc.

Waze should revamp it's maps/UI away from the cartoonish look. It was cute at first, but that appeal has gone.

I love having my cat avatar for other Wazers to see.

 

[spinedoc77]

I use it every day on my commute, too. I hope Google does acquire Waze, so they can get rid of Bing search. I want Google search on Waze.



Turn by turn are just as good on Waze as it is on Google Maps.





I find that Waze provides better routes through traffic than Google Maps. I have discovered a few better routes using Waze. Also, if the traffic conditions change, Waze will inform you that there is a better route and reroute you automatically. It also informs you of any traffic or collision on your route. Google Maps doesn't do this. The traffic information that Waze provides is also better. It tells you the speed of traffic on various routes. I'm not talking about just colour coding. It tells you how fast in km/h how fast the traffic is moving. The information is also easier to see while driving.

I also find that the default zoom level on Waze is more to my liking. When using Google Maps, I keep having to adjust the zoom level every time I use it. Just my personal preference, but I am much happier with the default zoom level in Waze.



I love having my cat avatar for other Wazers to see.

Ninja here, hehe. I drive so much that I passed the waze warrior level a while ago and am almost a waze knight, that's in the top 4% and that's in north jersey where there are a ton of wazers.