Waze is a community-powered GPS navigation app for smartphones. It has been featured on the iTunes app store and The New York Times. It has been estimated to have more than 500,000 downloads on the Android.
Social media components have been integrated with features like Foursquare check-ins (where you get a badge) and sharing with Facebook friends. The act of driving with Waze turned on–wazing–is challenged by incorporating a scoring mechanism by driving around with Waze. The more you drive, the more points you get. You also get the chance to encounter bonuses, for example, cookies on roads you’ve never driven before. It’s just like a real-life driving version of Pac-Man (called road munching).
Its features are at par with most navigation services/devices:
We need more wazers. More people driving means better traffic updates. Running the app while you drive sends traffic automatically. The app is designed to operate hands free and there’s an option to send data anonymously. Once you sign up, please join the Philippine Wazers group.
Screenshots of Waze in night mode. Top: Pop up screen when stopped shows nearby traffic reports and conditions. Bottom: 3D map of Makati City
We need more mappers. The Philippine map on Waze needs A LOT of work. I’ve spent a sleepless night updating the Makati area and surely the job can’t be done by one man. All you need to participate is a computer with internet access. Yes, mapping is done on a PC with Cartouche, the editor.
Cartouche Screenshot
We need more Area Managers. As more people drive and use Waze, new roads are added to the system which needs to be labelled and updated accordingly in addition to the current ones uploaded. See the steps to become an area manager to update the map without having to drive on the road you want to edit. Do check out the naming convention and standards too.
Safety first. Buy a car mount holder. You can get one from CDR-King. There’s one on Amazon that also serves as an FM transmitter and micro-USB charger.
CDR-King Carmount
Get unlimited data. Maximize your smartphone with data plans and promos available locally. SMART prepaid and postpaid subscribers send UNLISURF 1200 to 211 (rates on SMART’s website). Globe postpaid subscribers send SUPERSURF ON to 8888 and prepaid subscribers SUPERSURF 220 to 8888 (rates on Globe’s website).
That’s it and I’m hoping to see you on Waze. Or if you’re already on Waze, chit chat and say hi! If you have any questions about Waze, feel free to ask in the comments below.
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