Items tagged with Waze
Google acquired Waze, a GPS navigation software app, way back in 2013. Google and Waze work mostly independently from one another, but Google has recently incorporated a few features that were inspired by Waze. Google Map users will now be able to report speed traps and crashes on iOS devices. According to Google, these new tools, “...reflect real-time contributions from the community so you can stay even more informed when you’re behind the wheel.” iOS users can now report report crashes, speed traps and other traffic slowdowns directly from their iPhone. This feature has been available on Android for over a year, but is a welcome addition for iOS users. Android and iOS Google...
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One of the first things you learn in driving class is to keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. That is easier said then done these days, with increasingly functional mapping apps and digital displays getting in the way. To help with that, Google Assistant is heading to the Waze navigation app, Google announced on Monday. Google acquired Waze back in 2013 for $1.3 billion, and it continues to operate independently of Google Maps. Over the years, however, Google has ported several of Waze's features over to its own home-brewed maps app. On occasion, some of the features in Google Maps have also found their way over to Waze. The latter is the case here, at least technically—Google...
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Google Maps has been steadily adding new features to the app to give more functionality and match other offerings like Waze. One of the latest features that Google Maps added was speed limit indicators, but the catch was that initially those were only available in the San Francisco Bay area and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It appears that Google is now rolling the speed limit indicators out to other parts of the country. Reports from three different areas indicate that the speed limits were live on Google Maps. The three regions include New York City, Los Angeles, and Minnesota. There has been no official comment from Google on when the speed limits will roll out to other areas. With no Maps updates...
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Something interesting is going on with Google Maps regarding a “new” feature. Some people are claiming they have had this feature for a long time, others are seeing it for the first time. The feature in question is incident reporting, something that has made navigation app Waze popular with users. Google has long had traffic information integrated, but data on road work and closures hasn't been part of the app for most users. While some users are claiming, according to reports, to have had incident reporting for a year or more, others haven’t had it at all. I personally use Google Maps in the Colorado Springs/Denver areas all the time and haven’t had incident reporting...
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One of the great things about navigation apps on our smartphones is that they help us to easily get from Point A to Point B without having to really think much about it. They can automatically reroute you to save time, and take you through some off-the-beaten-path routes to avoid more congested roadways. The non-discriminatory nature of navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze means that some relatively low-traffic locales have now become bumper-to-bumper nightmares. Such is the case with the small New Jersey town of Leonia. The quiet community is a suburb of New York City and has a population of fewer than 9,000 people. However, modern navigation apps have turned what were previously lightly...
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Motorists should take caution when driving in the direction of California's wildfires, even when using a navigation app that is continually updated. Case in point, users of Waze and other similar navigation apps report that driving directions have pointed them squarely to where the wildfires are raging, including roads that have been closed down or otherwise blocked off because of the fires. The aftermath of a wildfire in 2015 (Image Source: Flickr via Bob Dass) Apps like Waze use a combination of artificial intelligence and driver input to stay up to date with current conditions. In theory, these apps should warn drivers of dangerous areas and offer a different route to their destination. And...
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Do you get nervous and start sweating bullets when you have to make a left-hand turn at a busy intersection with no stop light? The scenario is a little more common in big and busy cities like Los Angeles, and to make commutes a little less stressful for drivers, Waze created a new routing feature that bypasses intersections altogether when possible. The feature is rolling out first to to L.A., one of the busier and more crowded places in the U.S. to drive, particularly during rush hour. To identify the intersections that are most troublesome to drivers, Waze said it worked closely with the local map editor and employee community. "They shared lists of what they perceived to be the most difficult...
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If you’re a Waze user, listen up! A new exploit has been found that could make it easy for hackers to track your location whenever you’re using the popular Google-owned navigation app. The exploit uses an HTTPS proxy to carry out a “man-in-the-middle” attack to track Waze users in real-time. Researchers at University of California-Santa Barbara found that they were able to interrupt the SSL-encrypted communications link between a user’s smartphone and Waze servers. Once the researchers got their foot in the door, so to speak, they were able to reverse-engineer Waze’s protocol to enable them to talk directly with the servers that run the social-heavy navigation app. Having cracked the code on...
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There are very few voices as recognizable as Morgan Freeman’s. In addition to playing God in the “Almighty” movies alongside Jim Carey and Steve Carrel, and the unforgettable “Red” in the Shawshank Redemption (which is still the top rated movie of all-time on IMDB), among countless other unforgettable parts, Morgan Freeman has narrated everything from “A Raisin in the Sun” to “War of the Worlds”.Credit: flickr.com/photos/kimstovring/His latest gig will likely win over some die-hard road warriors though, because Morgan Freeman’s voice is now an option in the popular community-based traffic and navigation app, Waze.The Waze Facebook page announces the availability of Freeman’s voice with,...
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“In need your clothes, your boots, and for you to turn right in 300 feet.” Google’s popular Waze navigation app is a boon for frequent road travelers with its informative traffic mapping and police alerts, and the thorn in the sides of police departments around the country. After all, traffic cops our out to nab speeders and secure extra revenue for their cities/counties, and Waze puts a serious damper on this form of taxation. With that being said, we definitely know which side actor (and former California governor) Arnold Schwarzenegger takes. He’s definitely endorsing Waze, as he has lent his voice to the app to promote the upcoming film Terminator: Genisys, which opens on July 1. All Waze...
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Traffic-crowdsourcing app Waze, which describes itself as being about “contributing to the common good out there on the road,” has a new feature that certainly meshes with its goals: AMBER Alerts. Starting today, Waze users will receive AMBER Alerts about local, missing children when alerts are sent by authorities.Because people use Waze while driving, the company has to be careful about when (and how) it displays AMBER Alerts. The system Waze is setting in place at the outset makes sense: the AMBER alert will only appear once your car has been stopped for 10 seconds. You can tap the map to hide the AMBER Alert, but if you don’t, the alert will disappear as soon as you begin driving again. “Each...
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Google announced today that its Waze app has graduated to the big leagues and has officially joined Google Mobile Services along with other “essential” apps like Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, and Google Maps. This move will give OEMs the option to preinstall Waze on their smartphones and tablets so users can enjoy the benefits of the app “straight out of the box.” "If a leading telecom preinstalls Waze in his handsets, a large percentage of the population would immediately have access to blocked roads, dangerous intersections traffic and more in real time," said Waze spokesperson Julie Mossler. "There's an enormous opportunity to improve city efficiency and civilian connectedness just by enhanced exposure...
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A few weeks ago, we brought you a story about Google’s Waze app and how law enforcement agencies across the U.S. are becoming increasingly paranoid about how the app is being used. In a nutshell, Waze allows drivers to report on road hazards, traffic jams, accidents, and of course police activity. All of this information is reported in near-real-time, and with millions of drivers using the app, it provides a wealth of data to road warriors. But many police departments see the app as a threat. Late last month, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said that the Waze app can be “misused by those with criminal intent to endanger police officers and the community." He went on to add, "I am confident...
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As someone who does a lot of driving and depends greatly upon the Waze app (Waze has roughly 50 million users in over 200 countries around the world), this bit of news struck a nerve with me. Law enforcement agencies across the country are coming out against the app, saying that would-be cop killers could use it to stalk officers while they are doing their jobs. But before we get to the complaints, let’s talk a little bit about what Waze actually does. First and foremost, Waze operates like a traditional GPS app, giving you turn-by-turn directions to a destination, voice prompts with spoken street names, ETA, etc. This is typical stuff you’ll find in apps like Apple Maps or Google Maps. However,...
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Hopefully Google didn't pop the top on expensive bottles of champagne celebrating the $1.1 billion acquisition of Waze, a popular GPS-based turn-by-turn navigational app for mobile that hard drawn interest from a number of suitors, including Facebook. The expensive acquisition has drawn the attention of antitrust lawyers at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which have contacted Google about its purchase. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the FTC may have asked Google to hang tight and refrain from baking Waze into its software and service until the investigation is complete. At issue for the FTC is whether or not Waze would have become a direct competitor with Google and its...
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For some, spending a billion bucks comes easy. Just this week, Yahoo closed its deal to acquire Tumblr with next to no fuss from regulators. But when it comes to Google, it seems that the feds are constantly casting glances. The company recently announced its intentions to acquire rival mapping firm Waze for over a billion dollars, but now the Federal Trade Commission has launched an antitrust investigation to see if the deal will be allowed. Google has confirmed that such an investigation is ongoing, but won't speak further on the details. Media reports suggest that the breaking up of the deal is unlikely, as the FTC would, at this point, need to provide evidence that the combination of companies...
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If you were the market's leader in maps, what would you do? If you'd seek out one of the hottest GPS mobile apps, then your train of thought would align to Google's. A deal has been rumored for the past week, but it seems certain today: Google has acquired Waze for a cool $1.1 billion, beating out Facebook to the acquisition. Waze is a GPS app first and foremost, but it goes beyond the others by crowdsourcing information to make the information it spits back a lot more useful. With it, you can automatically contribute traffic data to the pool, and manually report accidents and other hazards. You'll of course receive that information as well if another user reports it. It's clear, then, why Google...
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Google looks to be playing some expensive defense against Facebook, as the two companies are vying to buy Israeli satellite mapping startup Waze, reports Reuters. Facebook is reportedly offering $1 billion for Waze, so if Google wants to try and block Facebook from getting into the mobile mapping game, it’s going to cost them. According to the report, nothing is set in stone either way, although Facebook has apparently been in talks with Waze for six months. Waze is a unique mapping service in that it relies on crowd-sourced data from its 47 million users to deliver real-time traffic information for turn-by-turn GPS navigation. Clearly, it would be a great asset, and Google might also want...
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