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Waze CEO Noam Bardin: the future of mobile is fighting for a user's time
Noam Bardin, CEO of Waze, just took the stage here at D:Dive Into Mobile, taking part in a wide-ranging discussion hosted by Liz Gannes. Aside from dodging questions about potential acquisitions, Bardin made no bones about how he saw the future of mobile playing out. Of course, this is a man who spends essentially no time focused on the desktop web -- given that Waze is mobile only, one shouldn't be surprised. According to Bardin, "the next five years will be about fighting for time with users," and he pointed to Facebook Home as the de facto example of that. Rather than crafting their own OS and "doing what Microsoft has done -- fighting a war that ended five years ago" -- Facebook decided to make a time play on a massive OS. From there, Bardin confessed that in major markets, he sees Waze as Google's "only real competition." %Gallery-185706%
Waze maps respond to road closings
Waze (free) is a fun mashup of GPS navigation, social networking and gaming apps that uses the information gathered from the location of users' phones to offer directions and live traffic reports. As reported by Joshua Brustein of the New York Times Bits blog, Waze is now able to change maps in real time to reflect temporary road closures. Waze gathers traffic speed info from drivers' phones, and currently has about 40 million users contributing to the stream of data. Unfortunately, if a road is closed suddenly because of weather or a bad crash, the Waze system has no way of knowing about the closure to change maps accordingly. The folks at Waze decided to call upon drivers for help. Drivers currently get "points" for allowing the app to track their speed or by pointing out construction and speed traps. If drivers are stopped due to a closure, they can now report it for extra points. As Waze's algorithms begin to receive more and more driver verification of a road closure, the system begins routing other drivers around the blockage. Waze is also being used in some other new ways in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The company worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pass along information about gas stations that were out of fuel, allowing the agency to deploy its refueling trucks where they were needed most. Waze is also now supplying information to the Georgia Department of Transportation to help create reports for electronic traffic signs on major highways and plans to expand that program more in the future.
Accel Telecom unveils Voyager, an Android smartphone that wants to stay in the car (video)
Remember the days of yore when carphones used to be attached to the car -- permanently? Accel Telecom wants to take you back there with the Voyager, an Android smartphone with car-centric functions that can stay put in your vehicle. To start with, the handset will feature a dedicated Waze launcher key for GPS navigation duties, and will also sport "high level noise reduction and echo cancellation," along with hands-free voice activation. Other features include a 3G-WiFi hotspot, a "driver-centric" design with large physical keys, multiple car-focused apps and "crystal clear, echo free sound quality." Interestingly, it'll also connect to your vehicle's on-board diagnostics system via RS232 or Bluetooth and ping you if any parts are about to break off. Accel told us that it'll launch Voyager in Europe and the US "with operators that offer a second sim device," to let you share your current phone number. There's no sign of pricing yet, but there is PR and a video after the break.
Apple is not buying Waze
You know how TechCrunch reported a few days ago that Apple is buying Waze to beef up its Maps app? Yeah, that's not happening. And it never was. As several other sites did, we reported on TechCrunch's news, too. But to be fair, our Steve Sande warned readers: "Neither Apple nor Waze has said anything solid about a deal at this point, so like many 'news' items that we're hearing these days before CES and Macworld/iWorld, it's simply a rumor." If you missed the story, on January 2nd TechCrunch -- citing its own sources -- said that an Apple/Waze deal was in advanced negotiations. TC's Mike Butcher wrote: "Another source confirms that negotiations are advanced, but Waze wants $750M and Apple is willing to do $400M plus $100m in incentives. Waze had less than $1M in revenues last year (primarily from ads). Negotiations may take awhile." Yesterday, however, TC's MG Siegler wrote a follow up post saying the deal wasn't happening (again, citing TC's sources close to the situation). He went on to say that that doesn't mean talks were never taking place, however, and hinted that the news could have been due to someone trying to manipulate a deal: "What about deal manipulation? Couldn't this just be one interested party trying to drive down (or up) the price? Always possible, but that's why you get multiple sources." Then late last night, CNET came out and said that the news of any such deal was "completely fabricated." Citing "a source familiar with Apple's thinking" CNET reported that any claims Waze would be acquired by Apple were simply made up and their source went on to say that Apple had "no plans to acquire Waze, and discussions are currently not being held between the companies." So there you go folks. As far as anyone now knows, the news was complete BS. Move along.
Daily Update for January 2, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple supposedly considering Waze acquisition
Of the plethora of iOS navigation apps, probably none is more unique than Waze. The free app uses group-sourced information about points of interest and traffic to make navigating fun. If you've ever tried the app, you know that you can actually turn driving into a game as you motor around town, getting points for driving over virtual markers or contributing information on traffic accidents, speed traps and construction. Now our sister site TechCrunch is reporting that Apple might be looking at acquiring Waze as a way to provide information for the much-maligned Apple Maps app. Last month, there was speculation that Apple might buy Foursquare. But Foursquare is primarily focused on point-of-interest data, not routes or traffic, and it isn't widely used outside of the US. On the other hand, Waze has a huge international following, particularly in countries where Apple Maps has big issues. Waze might also be a much less expensive acquisition for Apple to consider than Foursquare. It's expected that Apple would need to spend more than US$500 million to purchase Foursquare and would only gain POI information. By spending less than that amount to acquire Waze, Apple would have user-generated traffic data and extremely accurate route information. Waze already supplies some map data to Apple Maps. Neither Apple nor Waze has said anything solid about a deal at this point, so like many "news" items that we're hearing these days before CES and Macworld/iWorld, it's simply a rumor.
Problems with Apple's Maps have helped third-party developers
I was wondering if the range of issues with iOS 6's Maps app caused a spike the sale of paid 3rd party navigation apps. The answer appears to be yes. I talked with Johan-Till Broer, who represents Garmin and its subsidiary Navigon, to see if the brouhaha over Maps -- which, with its new turn-by-turn and voice navigation features, was seen by some developers as a threat -- has actually boosted attention and uptake of these apps. "We definitely saw an increase in sales for our navigation apps over the last couple of weeks due to the recent interest in map and navigation apps for the iPhone. It should be noted, though, that App Store dynamics are very complex and it's always difficult to reduce a spike in sales to a single factor. The fact that we were one of the first navigation apps to integrate with Apple Maps and provide public transit directions, the brand awareness that Garmin has as the global leader in GPS navigation as well as the fact that Apple suggested our apps as map alternatives in the App Store also played a significant role." Garmin and Navigon get, I think, a significant boost because those solutions include Google Local Search and Google Street View, both of which left the bundled Maps app when Apple moved away from Google as a data provider for mapping. Both are still available as standalone free apps, by the way, and Google has now integrated Street View into its web-based maps for mobile. [Just a reminder that the pre-iOS 6 Maps app was also developed by Apple, not by Google; while it's been informally referred to as "Google Maps" since the map data was provided by Google, technically the app itself was always "Apple Maps." We'll try to use "iOS 6 Maps" and "pre-iOS 6 Maps" for clarity, and reserve "Google Maps" to refer to the current web-based solution. –Ed.] Broer also points out that there were other free third-party navigation apps on the iPhone before Apple made its move, but paid maps have always had significant sales. Even on Android, where most phones work with Google's free turn-by-turn navigation option, paid apps still sell, including CoPilot Live, Magellan and both Navigon and Garmin. One of the main reasons is that many of these apps have all the map data onboard, and are not dependent on a data connection. Both the iOS 6 Maps app and the Android navigation app require data connections to function, though there is some built-in caching; iOS 6's app in particular seems pretty good about allowing navigation based on pre-loaded data. For many users, Apple's Maps or some of the free solutions like Mapquest or Waze will be enough. For those wanting a premium experience, and are willing to pay, it looks like third-party navigation apps are here to stay. Apple's Maps "upgrades" haven't hurt the paid app suppliers at all, and in fact, seem to be driving sales of alternative solutions.
Editorial: Apple's smart Maps maneuver
More Info Nokia stacks up its maps next to Apple's and Google's, politely suggests it comes out on top (update: more detail) Apple says it's 'just getting started' on Maps for iOS 6, are you willing to wait? (poll) MapQuest picks TomTom Maps to power iPhone and Android turn-by-turn navigation apps It might seem as if Apple chose its iOS 6 release last week to practice the biblical directive to love one's enemy. For, by ejecting Google Maps from updated iPads and iPhones, Apple hath caused glorious comparisons to shine upon its foe. If most people were unaware of comparative feature sets and quality aspects that distinguish Google Maps from Apple Maps, every tech-loving person on God's earth is an expert now. The media love a bloodbath, and Joe Nocera led the rhetorical pack by calling Apple Maps an "unmitigated disaster" in a NY Times piece. He wondered whether such calamity would have ensued if Steve Jobs (who called the 1998 "hockey puck" mouse the world's best pointing device) were guiding the company's product evolution. Mr. Nocera argues the Maps replacement as an indicator that Apple has peaked. I argue that replacing Google Maps with Apple Maps was shrewd, inevitable and an indicator that Apple understands the true battle it wages.
Waze adds gas prices to its consumer-powered traffic app
Waze is a socially-driven traffic app that we've posted about before. Today, the company has released a big update: Gas prices. Now, in addition to browsing socially-driven information about traffic, accidents, and speed traps, you can search your area for the cheapest prices and get directions to the leading gas station. Unfortunately, information is provided by other users, so it can be inaccurate or even absent. If you're living in a city with lots of Waze users (like my own city of Los Angeles), the app can be really helpful in getting you around town. But if you're living in the middle of nowhere, there likely won't be nearly as much helpful or up-to-date information. Still, finding a good deal on gas could save you a lot of money, and Waze is also teaming up with certain gas stations to offer in-app deals occasionally. Traffic apps like Waze are definitely going to need some innovation to stay ahead of Apple's shiny new Maps app due out later this year, and this is a nice start. Waze is a free download on the App Store now.
Daily Update for June 13, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Waze and others contribute some map data to Apple Maps, too
Earlier this week, TomTom confirmed it is providing Apple with some map data for its new Maps app. Now, TechCrunch discovered that Waze, Getchee, Localeze, Urban Mapping, DMTI, and MapData Sciences is contributing as well. This juicy tidbit was discovered in a legal notice that lists all the companies which contribute to the Maps app. This is good news for Waze fans, who were afraid Apple was killing the service with its own crowd-sourced map data. Now, it appears Apple is giving the service a boost (and likely some money) by tapping into the company's vast information on traffic, road conditions and more.
Switched On: When the smartphone giveth, Part 1
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Part II of this article will be coming next week -- stay tuned! The rise of smartphones hasn't been kind to makers of devices such as digital cameras, digital music players and portable GPS devices. Handsets with a rich selection of apps have been increasingly cannibalizing sales of these products, leaving few ways for these once hot holiday gift items to compete. In some cases, though, they have enabled functionality that was once envisioned for standalone products that either failed in the market or never went much beyond a niche audience. Here are five examples of failed devices that never made much headway. The concepts behind them, though, ultimately found acceptance on smartphones.
Why can't navigation apps be fun?
With all the holidays, many of us TUAWians spent more time on the road over the past few weeks than we normally do. And when it comes to tech-savvy bloggers, more time on the road means more time with navigation apps. And more time with navigation apps made us ever more aware of our lingering frustrations with the most popular apps. Sure Navigon and TomTom will get us from here to there, but they represent not just the lower end of design possibility, but the most Windows NT-like user experience. (We say that as an insult. We're Apple bloggers.) We're talking Soviet-era usability. On a platform that sports such shining examples of beauty and design, including Omni's suite of tools, Apple's brilliant in-house offerings, and so forth, why does utilitarian nonsense dominate the navigation market? So we huddled around the 8-bit fire in the center of the TUAW backchannel chat room (we're retro like that) and brainstormed about what we wanted to see nav apps evolve to, and what better apps are out there already. Steve Sande highly recommended the new Waze GPS & Traffic app. Powered by live community-sourced traffic data, it provides turn-by-turn guidance as you drive as well as social integration for carpooling and checking in. The app passively allows you to contribute traffic and road data, just by leaving it open as you drive. You can also share road reports about accidents and speed traps, although we recommend that you only do so as a passenger or when stopped at traffic lights. Some of us focused more on data. I personally felt that we needed more features like those currently available in popular running apps. Take Runmeter, which is my sports-tracking app of choice these days. It logs all your stats for walks, runs, bike rides, and more. You can monitor your efficiency, discover how long you were stopped, how far you went, how much you improved. In other words, it provides a full suite of analysis for after you've arrived at your destination. That's the kind of data I'd want to see integrated into turn-by-turn navigation apps. For each trip, I'd love to know how many miles I went, how efficient my gas usage was, what my high speed was, compare stretches to past runs of the same route, and so forth. I contacted Abvio, makers of Runmeter, to see whether this was an area they might eventually explore. A company spokesperson politely responded that "Turn by turn isn't something on [our] immediate road map, but [we] do get requests for it on occasion." And what about weather? Why don't current navigation apps offer real-time weather updates displayed on the route? With some apps, like Navigon, you can get a destination forecast, but as you're driving it's far more important that you know about the weather where you are, or when you're just about to be there. Road Trip Weather, which offers on-route weather updates, was our recent daily iPhone app. It is not, however a navigation app itself. On a side note, it would also be great if we could automatically pause navigation. Nothing more embarrassing than having your pocket announce that you should turn right in 1.5 miles -- as you're sitting at a table at Burger King. The final item on our wishlist was more game-like challenges for real-life chores. We'd love to see navigation apps integrate more tightly with GTD apps, schedules, and calendars, but do so in a way that's fun and light. Why not unlock achievements or earn points when stopping by the market, or remembering the dentist appointment? After all, a lot of our day in the modern world centers around travel. Shouldn't navigation apps better integrate with that? Sure, we'd probably skip @baobab68's suggestion of achievements like "15 Stop Lights Missed" or "Avoided Slow School Bus", or @andyflisher's hint that users should be able to finish the game despite no mirrors, bumpers, or windscreen. But why shouldn't navigation apps be more like games, with charts, records, scores, check-ins, and achievements? How would you like to see navigation apps evolve? Did we miss your favorite app? Drop a note into the comments and let us know where you see nav apps going in the future.
TUAW Best of 2011: Vote for the best iPhone navigation app
The nominations are in, and the poll is ready to go! The TUAW Best of 2011 awards are all about you -- the readers -- and what you think is the cream of the crop of Apple or third-party products and software. To vote, select one entry from the top nominations made by readers. We'll be announcing the winner in just a few days. Vote early and often! TUAW is asking for your votes for the best iPhone navigation app of 2011. The readers have spoken, and the nominees for best iPhone navigation app are (in no particular order) Motion X GPS Drive (US$0.99), Navigon ($29.99 for Navigon USA), the popular and free crowdsourced nav app Waze, and TomTom ($39.99 for TomTom USA). All of these apps have one thing in common -- they provide point-to-point navigation to points of interest. Another app that uses the iPhone's GPS capabilities but doesn't provide directions to anything except virtual treasure gathered a nomination as well. Traveler's Quest ($0.99) is a virtual treasure hunt that has been around for a few years but is constantly adding in-app purchases for new maps and treasures. And now, let the voting begin! The results will be announced on December 27, 2011. %Poll-72282%
Nominate your favorite iPhone navigation app for TUAW's Best of 2011
During December and January, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is soliciting your nominations and votes for the best products for Mac, iPhone/iPod touch, and iPad. We'll start with nominations in a category, and then tally your votes for the top-nominated products a few days later. The winner in each category receives the highly-coveted title of TUAW Best of 2011. Today's category for nominations in the TUAW Best of 2011 awards is iPhone navigation apps. These are the apps that give you turn-by-turn directions as you make your way around town, and they've been getting better as time goes by. Perhaps you are a fan of the free crowdsourced nab app Waze, which has a 4 out of 5 star rating on the App Store with over 29,000 user reviews. Or maybe you love the TomTom U.S.A. app ($39.99) with its ability to guide you with celebrity voices (Homer Simpson, anyone?). GPS by TeleNav is another popular and free navigation app, and there's always the MotionX GPS Drive app ($0.99, with one year of Voice Guidance for $9.99). Maybe you're a geocacher who doesn't care about getting from point A to point B, but you do want to find all of the caches in your area with the official Geocaching app ($9.99). And then there's always Navigon, with a host of features like in-app purchases of Zagat information. TUAW wants to hear from you -- what's your favorite iPhone navigation app? Leave your nomination in the comments below. Voting will start soon! Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET on December 22, 2011.
Switched On: A road trip with Siri
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. When considering the great technology advances of the past few decades, GPS tends to get short shrift compared to such culture-rocking innovations as the internet and cellular networks. But it is a marvel nonetheless. Just a few generations ago, the idea of hopping in a car with no clue how to get to a particular destination was foolishness (or at least fodder for gender-stereotyping comedians). Today, with an inexpensive device or smartphone software, we can do so with near certainty of finding our way. Developers of navigation apps and hardware must place great care in creating an experience that doesn't unnecessarily distract the driver. For example, quite a few involve "lane assist" features that starkly indicate the options when coming to a fork in the road so that the driver avoids having to stare at the screen too long to figure out the right path. In addition, spoken instructions have long been a defining commodity. While Telenav, for example, offers a free version of its navigation app, it doesn't include such audio. And Nokia recently followed suit with its distribution strategy around Nokia Drive, leaving the version with spoken turn-by-turn directions exclusive to its Windows Phones.
Waze makes plans to deal with LA's Carmageddon
Here in Los Angeles, there's a cataclysmic event about to happen. No, it's not the next earthquake (as far as we know) or an alien invasion. It's Carmageddon, which is what the locals have started calling a closure period over July 16 and 17 where the city will shut down the 405 highway from the 10 to the 101. That's a huge stretch of road in a city that depends on its cars, so people are expecting the fallout to be pretty monstrous -- while lots of folks (including me -- my apartment is about two blocks from the 405 on Santa Monica) are hoping to just stay home for the weekend, we've all got places to go and things to do, so we may end up navigating the traffic anyway. iPhone app Waze is helping to jump on this grenade -- the company has teamed up with Los Angeles' KABC 7 to bring real-time traffic updates to and from the iPhone all throughout Carmageddon weekend, both using its social mobile network of users (which just recently hit 4.5 million drivers around the world) to track movement on the road, but also to connect the TV station with volunteer users, who can report where reporters might not actually be. The company's set up an anti-Carmageddon website, and hopes to provide alternate routes and information to frustrated drivers all weekend long. I hope it helps -- this particular stretch of the 405 is about six lanes wide, and serves about 500,000 people on any given weekend, so presumably all of those people will be off the highway and looking for other streets to use. Fingers crossed that it's not quite as apocalyptic as it seems it might be.
Waze still has a 'waze' to go
The free nav app for the iPhone, Waze, has just been updated with a new 2.0 version that sports some new features and some of the same old problems. Waze is basically a navigation app with some crowdsourced features. If you are using the app, Waze keeps track of your location, and if you get stuck in traffic, it will tell others along or near your route that something is amiss. It's a good idea, but only if there are a lot of people using the app on your route. New to this version are commuting groups, which allows you to create groups of drivers and see them on the map. There is an improved 3D view, and a better, simpler, search menu. The app works in landscape as well as portrait mode, and does give voice directions.
Waze for iPhone has a ways to go
Several of our readers suggested that we take a look at Waze, a free navigation app [iTunes link] that depends on other users for reports of traffic tie ups, accidents, and speed traps. It also functions as a turn-by-turn navigator with spoken directions, although it doesn't have text to speech capabilities for naming streets or points of interest.As a navigator Waze is fine, but it seems to be missing a lot of residential addresses. Waze had a nasty habit of jumping my vehicle icon to a nearby parallel street, and while it was nice to have both 2D and 3D maps, the software seemed to change the zoom factor without me telling it to. This erratic zooming seemed to happen when I went to a menu and then returned to the map.The maps aren't very attractive. There are both day and night views for the Waze maps, but even when set to 'auto,' the night map comes up no matter what time of day it is. The maps and POI data are all downloaded from the internet, so if you're in a "dead zone" for data, you have no navigation. As for the social functions of the app, they are a great idea, but in reality you're only going to get information in a densely populated areas. Even then, you may not get much of anything in terms of reported incidents. If you go to the Waze web page and look at the national map for reported incidents, it is pretty lightly populated. Of course, that should get better as more and more people use Waze. A clever aspect of the app is that it keeps track of where you are while you're navigating, and uses your speed to add to its database of road conditions. I think Waze is promising, and if you don't want to spend money on a turn-by-turn nav app, it's a start. To be really useful some of the bugs need to be fixed, the address data needs to be more complete, and there need to be a heck of a lot more people using Waze so there is more incident reporting. This app is free and implements some creative ideas. If you're thinking about getting a nav app, but you're on the fence, make the risk-free download of Waze and see if it enhances your driving.
