Waze

112 'Waze' stories October 2012 - July 2015

Waze for Android updated, appears to work on Android M now

Tom Maxwell Jul 7 2015 - 8:59 am PT

If you’re someone living on the bleeding edge by running the Android M Developer Preview on your main device, you may be happy with today’s update to the Waze traffic and navigation app.

After many complaints in the Waze forums (like this thread) and other locations around the web about the app crashing on startup for users on Android M, version 3.9.5.0 released today seems to fix the issue. Before I downloaded this update the app would not work at all, and as soon as I installed the update it to function. One commenter on APKMirror indicates that this update fixed the app for them as well.

This update only seems to include bug fixes like this support for Android M – I haven’t been able to find any above the hood changes. Though if I do, I’ll update this post. The size of the update is 37.56MB, and can be downloaded from Google Play or as an APK from APKMirror (click here). If you’re running Android M there’s a good chance you know how to install an APK.

Lyft could see future competition from Google as Waze trials car-pooling app

Ben Lovejoy Jul 6 2015 - 4:12 am PT

0 Comments

Google-owned Waze looks to have its sights set on competing with the ride-sharing service Lyft. Reuters reports that it is trialling a ride-sharing service, initially in Waze’s home market, Israel.

The new application, called RideWith, will use Waze’s navigation system to learn the routes drivers most frequently take to work and match them up with people looking for a ride in the same direction.

Waze is at pains to point out that it is not trying to compete with Uber, where drivers are able to operate full-time and make a profit. RideWith will limit drivers to just two journeys per day, allowing them to share the cost of their journey to and from work …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Maps in India now includes real-time traffic information for 12 cities

Tom Maxwell Jun 30 2015 - 8:56 am PT

0 Comments

I honestly can’t think back far enough to remember the days when people had to rely on paper maps to navigate to places, but I can still appreciate how the combination of Google Maps and the Google-owned Waze makes life much easier than ever before. The one dedicated GPS I ever owned couldn’t even beat my Nexus 5 because it’s arrival estimates always seemed completely off-base. Unsurprising really, because unlike Google Maps, it didn’t have real-time information about traffic density on the roads my route would take me on. Now, Maps users in 12 cities in India will be able to enjoy the same real-time traffic information we have stateside.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Waze app to get AMBER alerts, help users look out for missing & abducted children

Ben Lovejoy Mar 4 2015 - 5:57 am PT

0 Comments

Waze, the free crowdsourced navigation and traffic app, is to get AMBER alerts in the U.S., helping users look out for missing and abducted children. You’ll only see alerts for children in your local area, and for safety reasons details will only appear once your vehicle has been stationary for at least ten seconds.

AMBER alerts are created by law enforcement agencies to quickly alert members of the public to children who have been reported missing or are believed to have been abducted. Waze says the app will scan for new alerts every ten minutes, though once you’ve dismissed an alert it won’t be shown again for a further week.

Alerts will display all the information available, which will normally include a photo of the child, their name, age, description, where they were last seen, what clothing they were wearing and details of any vehicle known or believed to have been involved.

The update is expected to roll out shortly in the U.S. only. Waze is a free download from Google Play. It was reported yesterday that the app may in future be pre-installed on Android devices following its integration into Google Mobile Services.

Facebook added AMBER alerts to its mobile apps in January.

Waze might be coming pre-installed on an Android smartphone near you

Stephen Hall Mar 3 2015 - 7:52 am PT

1 Comment

Google has announced today that Waze, the Google-owned social driving app, is going to be an option for pre-installed software on Android phones (via TechCrunch). The app is now part of Google Mobile Services, a selection of software that Google allows OEMs and carriers to include in their devices.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Now adds cards for notifications from 40 Android apps

Jordan Kahn Jan 30 2015 - 11:50 am PT

2 Comments

Google announced today that it’s adding new cards to Google Now, those context-aware notifications that pop up in the Google app for Android, using information sourced from other Android apps. That means rather than opening various apps to check out the latest updates in each, you’ll be able to view updates directly in the Google Now feed.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Waze app now automatically remembers where you park

Jordan Kahn Sep 29 2014 - 8:35 am PT

0 Comments

Waze, the maps and navigation app acquired by Google last year, today gets an update that introduces a few new features to help improve navigation through user feedback.

First up, the app will now automatically remember and save where you park when using it to navigate to your destination: ”Your parking location will be saved automatically. Plus, you’ll help Waze learn where to find parking & how much time to account.”

Other new features included in today’s version 3.9 update: the ability to “easily add or edit places, business or residential” as well options for adding arrival photos and driving info for specific destinations. In addition, the update adds search autocomplete worldwide for all users.

The Waze app is available now on Google Play for Android devices.

What’s New

Version 3.9 introduces Waze Places! Help make information on local places fresh & accurate for everyone.

– Easily add or edit places, business or residential

– Add driving related info like if a place has a parking lot or drive-thru

– Add arrival photos to help others find a place at any time

– Drive with Waze until you park: your parking location will be saved automatically. Plus, Waze will learn where to find parking and how much time to account

– Search autocomplete now worldwide

– Bug fixes

Google Glass XE21.0 update brings quicker Google Now updates, Waze integration

Jordan Kahn Sep 8 2014 - 1:52 pm PT

0 Comments

Google just announced the XE21.0 update for Google Glass and with it introduce faster Google now notifications for flights and sports and the integration of Waze data for navigation:

When looking up routes to your destination, Waze accident indicators help you avoid potential traffic.

Google announced its acquisition of mapping company Waze last year and has quickly integrated real-time traffic alerts and other features from the app into its own Maps and navigation features across platforms.

Earlier this month Google began selling its $1500 Google Glass Explorer Edition through the US Google Play Store alongside a number of accessories.

Waze updated for Android and iOS with a new UI and enhanced location sharing features

Mark Hearn Jun 18 2014 - 9:30 am PT

0 Comments

Google-owned, social navigation app Waze for Android and iOS has been updated today. Version 3.8 introduces a cluster of new features, including friends via contacts, which lets you sync your phone’s contact list with your Waze friends, keeping you connected when heading to the same destination. Also new is the ability to send your current location to friends, as well as addresses from your favorites and history. When you share an address with a friend, they’ll receive a link from Waze with directions to the location that can be used whenever they’re ready.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Now for Android updated with new cards, improved traffic, and more

Mike Beasley Nov 13 2013 - 5:06 pm PT

0 Comments

Google announced via its Android Google+ page today that the Google Now service has been updated with three new card types: news, website updates, and TV and movie recommendations.

The news topics card shows recent articles from news sites across the web on select topics. The website updates card can monitor your favorite sites and let you know when new content is available on those sites (like a new post on your favorite Google news site). The last of the new cards is the “what to watch” card, which can recommend movies and TV shows you might enjoy.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Maps adds Waze real-time incident reports in 46 new countries & territories

Jordan Kahn Nov 11 2013 - 9:03 am PT

1 Comment

[tweet https://twitter.com/googlemaps/status/399942508399976448]

The benefits of Google’s acquisition of mapping app Waze back in June first popped up when it added real-time incident reporting to Google Maps on iOS and Android back in August. However, the feature was initially limited to users in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, UK and the US. Today Google announced that it’s adding incident reporting in 46 new countries & territories on both the desktop and mobile.

Google hasn’t revealed the full list of countries (we’ll update if they do), but we can see Italy has been added from the screenshot attached to its tweet above.

Last week Google also added the real-time traffic and incident reporting from Waze to its new Google Maps desktop preview that it expects to roll out more broadly in the coming weeks.

Google Maps desktop app adds 3D ‘Earth Tours’, real time traffic reports, & StreetView improvements

Jordan Kahn Nov 6 2013 - 11:04 am PT

0 Comments

Google just announced a few updates rolling out to the new Google Maps desktop app today. Users will now be able to highlight StreetView imagery, user-uploaded photos, and PhotoSpheres on the map by clicking a new pegman icon in the lower right corner of their screen (pictured above). StreetView imagery will be highlighted in light blue, Photo Spheres as darker blue circles, and indoor imagery as yellow circles.

In addition, the update brings a touch of Google Earth over to the Maps desktop app with new bird’s-eye view 3D Earth Tours for all WebGL-enabled browsers.

Explore beautiful, 3D imagery of buildings and terrain for thousands of locations from above with Earth Tours available right in your browser.* Wherever you see the Earth Tour icon, you can click, sit back, and get a virtual tour from a soaring angle. Dive into Boston or circle the Alps.

Google is also rolling out a new preview UI for directions. Now, when viewing individual steps for directions you’ll see StreetView imagery on each step where available, allowing you to get a better sense of your surroundings for an upcoming turn or exit. Google also notes that it has integrated real time traffic incident reports from its Waze acquisition like it recently did in its mobile Google Maps apps.

The new Google Maps desktop app is rolling out to all that opted into the new Google Maps preview today and to everyone else in teh coming weeks. Google also just released a video preview for the new Google Maps desktop experience that shows off some of the new features in today’s update:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google adds Waze’s real-time incident reporting to Maps on iOS & Android, integrates search/StreetView into Waze apps

Jordan Kahn Aug 20 2013 - 6:35 am PT

1 Comment

Real-time-waze-reporting-google-maps Google announced today on its Google Maps blog that it’s finally tapping into the talent and technology it picked up with its acquisition of Waze back in June to integrate real time incident reports from Waze into Google Maps. The new integration means that when Waze users report incidents for everything from accidents to road closures, Google Maps users on both iOS and Android will now be able to benefit:

Users of Google Maps for Mobile will now benefit from real time incident reports from Waze users. This means when Wazers report accidents, construction, road closures and more on Waze, the updates will also appear on the Google Maps app for Android and iOS.

The features will initially be limited to users in certain locations, including: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, UK and the US. In addition, as Google first hinted back in June, the company will also be integrating Google Search into the Waze apps on iOS and Android, while the Waze Map Editor now has access to Google Street View imagery:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google’s Waze acquisition could be in danger because of risky filing tactics

Ben Lovejoy Jun 19 2013 - 6:57 am PT

0 Comments

The idea that Google could lose ownership of Waze less than ten days after buying it for a rumored billion dollars might sound incredible, but that’s the intriguing possibility raised by a law professor from Ohio State University writing in the New York Times.

The law requires companies to make what’s known as a Hart-Scott-Rodino filing for any intended acquisition so that the proposed deal can be checked for anti-trust issues before it takes place. Google apparently didn’t make this filing.

According to a person close to Google, the company skipped the Hart-Scott-Rodino filing by relying on an exemption. This filing is not required if the acquisition is of a foreign company that has sales and assets in the United States of less than $60.9 million. Waze is an Israeli company with headquarters in Silicon Valley, so it comes under this test.

Waze probably doesn’t have $50 million in revenue worldwide, yet the test also looks at assets. Given that Waze is worth $1 billion, it is hard to see that the value of its intellectual property in the United States business doesn’t meet the test. And the F.T.C. has previously indicated that companies should include this type of intellectual property in informal guidance …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google considers Waze acquisition, could start bidding war with Facebook

Mark Gurman May 23 2013 - 5:18 pm PT

0 Comments

Bloomberg reports that Google is considering making an acquisition offer for mapping company Waze. Numerous reports over the past few weeks have claimed that Facebook is also eyeing an acquisition of the maps firm.

Google Inc. (GOOG), maker of the Android operating system, is considering buying map-software provider Waze Inc., setting up a possible bidding war with Facebook Inc., people familiar with the matter said. Waze is fielding expressions of interest from multiple parties and is seeking more than $1 billion, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The Palo Alto, California-based startup might also remain independent, instead seeking to raise a round of venture capital financing, the people said.

Waze’s price-tag is current said to be around $1 billion.

Google’s potential bid would likely create a bidding war with the Menlo Park-based social network. Bloomberg reiterates that Apple is not in discussions with Waze. Rumors from earlier this year claimed that Apple was eyeing an acquisition, but many of those claims were immediately debunked.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Google sponsors ‘Reroute/sf’ Hattery Labs hackathon with $10K in prizes for best innovation using Google Maps API

Élyse Betters Oct 15 2012 - 9:43 am PT

0 Comments

Google is sponsoring an upcoming hackathon by Hattery Labs that is awarding two grand prizes to innovators using Google Maps API.

The “Reroute/sf” hackathon runs from Oct. 19 to Oct. 21 at The Hattery, according to its Facebook page, and it aims to “improve transportation in San Francisco with technological innovation, and work with the City to make it real.” The three-day event essentially invites engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs to “make San Francisco a better place.”

The hackathon will host three challenges, i.e., “Collect the right data,” “Plan a trip anywhere – on-time,” “See what’s broken and watch it get fixed,” while senior representatives from the City of San Francisco and the technology community will determine who wins the following four prizes:

Best Innovation using Google Maps API | $7,500 Grant
Runner-up Innovation using Google Maps API | $2,500 Grant
Best Public Transit Innovation | $500 Clipper Card credit
Best Collaboration | 3 free General Assembly classes per team member

Aside from Google, the Hattery, the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Waze, Google Maps, and the General Assembly sponsor the hackathon. The Hattery is a collection of experts ranging from designers and engineers to investors and brand marketers, and some of their most notable collaborative work under Hattery Labs includes giving people clean water and helping Haitians rebuild schools through WellDone and Haiti School Project, respectively.

Registration details below.

Expand
Expanding
Close