Discussion
My TomTom has expired and while looking around for a replacement I've been pointed at a smartphone app called Waze. It's a sat nav but with the benefit of being updated by users in realtime. Things like traffic, speed cameras and accidents are all there so I'm going to give this a go for the week.
Anyone else use it and what have your experiences been?
David
Anyone else use it and what have your experiences been?
David
Been using it since last January, and it's always running when I'm in the car even if I don't need any routing assistance - the realtime traffic flow statuses plus the user-generated reports of specific traffic issues, hazards etc. is useful information to have even if you're on a regular route that you know like the back of your hand. When you do then go off somewhere new, the quality of the maps is generally (for SE England at least) pretty good, and the routing algorithm is quite smart at times - on a few journeys I've wondered wtf it's decided to take me off along the route it's chosen when there seemed like a far more obvious route at first glance, but then after getting back home and studying the map in more detail it all made perfect sense. And if you do find something that isn't right then you can either have a go at fixing it yourself or submit a report and let one of the army of regular editors (myself included) fix it. Being free doesn't hurt either.
On the downside, it requires a near permanent data connection during use - whilst it can cope reasonably well with short dropouts in signal (there are a couple of TMobile blackspots on my route to work where I know it's futile to try sending/receiving anything via the Waze client, but where half a mile or so further on it works just fine) in areas of extended signal loss it becomes just a dumb satnav running off whatever cached data it might have on the phone. This constant use of the data connection on the phone, combined with the active GPS receiver and the screen, means that it's also very power hungry. You WILL need a good car charger, and depending on the charging limitations of the phone you're using/how much power it's using to maintain the data connection you may even find that Waze is depleting the battery faster than it can be recharged.
On the downside, it requires a near permanent data connection during use - whilst it can cope reasonably well with short dropouts in signal (there are a couple of TMobile blackspots on my route to work where I know it's futile to try sending/receiving anything via the Waze client, but where half a mile or so further on it works just fine) in areas of extended signal loss it becomes just a dumb satnav running off whatever cached data it might have on the phone. This constant use of the data connection on the phone, combined with the active GPS receiver and the screen, means that it's also very power hungry. You WILL need a good car charger, and depending on the charging limitations of the phone you're using/how much power it's using to maintain the data connection you may even find that Waze is depleting the battery faster than it can be recharged.
Very good app and free.
Agree with all the above - data hungry and definitely requires a charger for prolonged use.
I've stopped 'reporting' people on the hard shoulder - only alarms people when they see the planned route and number of incidents. It makes cock-all difference.
ETA's are very accurate and live traffic is based on other people using the app, so the more people using it, the more accurate it becomes. I'd pay for this app . . . !
Agree with all the above - data hungry and definitely requires a charger for prolonged use.
I've stopped 'reporting' people on the hard shoulder - only alarms people when they see the planned route and number of incidents. It makes cock-all difference.
ETA's are very accurate and live traffic is based on other people using the app, so the more people using it, the more accurate it becomes. I'd pay for this app . . . !
I've been using it for quite a while. It works great in places where there's plenty of other Waze users - which is pretty much London and some of the other major cities and the motorways. A few times it's re-routed me off the motorway and I've escaped a big jam before it got reported on the radio.
I do still have copilot with offline maps just in case, as you're a bit screwed if you're setting off from somewhere with no data signal.
I do still have copilot with offline maps just in case, as you're a bit screwed if you're setting off from somewhere with no data signal.
It's OK, but considering it's completely reliant on a data connection, I see no real reason to use it over Google Navigation.
Also, if the Google deal goes through, Waze will probably be discontinued in 12 months time, with its social features assimilated into Google Navigation with Google+ integration.
If you want a decent offline mapping GPS for a phone / tablet, give Sygic a go. Not sure about iOS, but on Android you can download a 7 day trial to check it out. The GUI is a bit quirky at times, but the mapping / route finding is excellent.
Also, if the Google deal goes through, Waze will probably be discontinued in 12 months time, with its social features assimilated into Google Navigation with Google+ integration.
If you want a decent offline mapping GPS for a phone / tablet, give Sygic a go. Not sure about iOS, but on Android you can download a 7 day trial to check it out. The GUI is a bit quirky at times, but the mapping / route finding is excellent.
I used it for a couple of months along with an old TomTom whose traffic subscription was about to expire. The plan was to compare them for the 2 months, then use whatever came out on top.
I drive 25,000 miles a year, mainly to work and back so routing is not my priority; traffic data is.
Waze looked better, was probably easier to use and had a handy ETA/live tracking facility. But in the last week or so, Waze attempted to guide me onto the M62 despite there being several Waze reports of 'complete standstill'. Tomtom was sending me away from the M62 and in the end I bought the TomTom app (I had relied on the traffic data for the previous 4 years so was aware of what it was like).
If you don't need traffic info (and don't expect to lose your connection often) Waze is probably ok. If you need traffic info there are probably better alternatives.
I believe that Google nav also includes intelligent rerouting around traffic so this might be worth a try as well.
Mike...
I drive 25,000 miles a year, mainly to work and back so routing is not my priority; traffic data is.
Waze looked better, was probably easier to use and had a handy ETA/live tracking facility. But in the last week or so, Waze attempted to guide me onto the M62 despite there being several Waze reports of 'complete standstill'. Tomtom was sending me away from the M62 and in the end I bought the TomTom app (I had relied on the traffic data for the previous 4 years so was aware of what it was like).
If you don't need traffic info (and don't expect to lose your connection often) Waze is probably ok. If you need traffic info there are probably better alternatives.
I believe that Google nav also includes intelligent rerouting around traffic so this might be worth a try as well.
Mike...
I have just used this in America where it is much more mature (more Wazers) and the feedback from this number of users made it a very good application indeed,the social interaction is very key to the effectiveness of the traffic, police warnngs etc.
I have continued with it on my phone over here but not travelled far with it yet so it remains to see if it works as well with fewer users.
I travel a lot for business so will soon know if it is any good and will report back in a few weeks.
Bob
I have continued with it on my phone over here but not travelled far with it yet so it remains to see if it works as well with fewer users.
I travel a lot for business so will soon know if it is any good and will report back in a few weeks.
Bob
I installed Waze last night before a brief drive around town
It looks useful and I will certainly refer to it on a big road trip planned next week
My main question is does it use real time tracking data from only Waze users or can it tap into the presumed much bigger pool of people running Google maps?
For a supplementary it seemed to show live data locally last night so whats the point of users flagging if and when a road is blocked - surely the live tracking will accomplish this?
Im a late comer to this party, but last year manually checking Google maps live traffic whilst on the M25 saved me a mahoosive amount of time when it showed the M1 to be stationary for a 10 mile stretch in Northants
Cheers
Word on the grapevine is that Google are looking long and hard at acquiring WAZE so maybe this will be the death of it (or the making?)
Used it for 3 trips this week around Essex, Northants and Hereford (from Berkshire)in parallel with my Garmin, maybe 700 miles in the week and the routing was very similar to the Garmin (I had it giving instructions through the Garmin via Bluetooth!) but much more effective regarding warnings for traffic and hazards etc.
I will continue with it and report again...........
Bob
Used it for 3 trips this week around Essex, Northants and Hereford (from Berkshire)in parallel with my Garmin, maybe 700 miles in the week and the routing was very similar to the Garmin (I had it giving instructions through the Garmin via Bluetooth!) but much more effective regarding warnings for traffic and hazards etc.
I will continue with it and report again...........
Bob
struttob said:
Word on the grapevine is that Google are looking long and hard at acquiring WAZE...
Think that was over months ago: http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/06/11/google-mak...And they're already using (some of) each other's data: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/08/google-maps...
Ive just done 1,000 miles in a week with Waze running and Im impressed
It beats the pants off my OEM unit's TMC data feed
Previously Ive used real time traffic on Google maps to avoid blackspots, but Waze takes these into account without me having to bother manually processing the information
Due to the relatively few other users I see on the map screen Im guessing it must use the Google information, whatever its very, very accurate
And just when I was wondering how the business model works I started to get pop ups for local Mazda dealers*
Not too annoying but maybe an indication of things to come.....
- I did have the regulation PH MX5 aeons ago but really cant see why its spamming me with Mazdas today
Bit of a bump as this thread has vanished from page 1
I did a fair mileage over the festive period and again Im highly impressed with Waze
Worthy of mention are a sensible diversion around a gridlocked Glossop (no mean feat as I know it well) and displaying petrol prices just off motorway junctions with a reliable computation of how much the diversion will take in minutes (5-10 tops)
Running Waze plus GPS plus music plus bluetooth on my Android does guzzle the battery though
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