Waze is a navigation app that was originally named FreeMap Israel. It was developed by an Israeli company named Waze mobile. The company was acquired from three Israeli entrepreneurs by Google in 2013.
The estimated price of the deal was $1.3 billion. The application developed by Waze was described as a community-driven venture and the app was made available to the users for free.
The revenue generation for the app was done through hyperlocal advertising. It is deemed quite successful as there are an estimated 130 million users for the app.
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History And Development
The app was formed as a result of the works of three friends from Israel, Ehud Shabtai, Amir Shinar, and Uri Levine. The startup had almost eighty employees and included around ten people who worked from California, while the rest of the staff used to work from Israel.
The company received funding for its early operations from two different venture capitalist firms in Israel namely the Magma and Verte ventures. They also received financial assistance from Bluerun ventures in the U.S.
Why Waze?
One of the most distinguishing features of Waze is the aspect that it is a community-driven app, unlike most other navigation apps. Most of the popular navigation apps like Google Maps, gather information from users and suggest to people which road will be the best to reach their designation. In Waze, it is taken a step further.
The name and location of the Waze users in your friends’ circle will be made available through the application. The app also allows the user to share information between themselves and if the user wants to communicate with others, one on one conversations with other users is also possible on Waze.
As the application works on a community-driven aspect, Waze provides many uses to its user which is not found in most such apps. The app will help its user to select an alternative route if there are any reported problems on the already selected route.
Such information and updates will be gathered from other Waze users. The app also provided much additional information that might come in handy during travel like the nearest gas station, notify if there are any obstacles in the route, and also provide heads-up about the situation of an intersection that you might be coming across soon.
Waze Or Google Maps?
While there are many differences between the two applications there are some distinct features that set Waze apart from Google Maps. One of the highlighting features offered by Waze is the possible social networking aspect of the app.
Waze’s work is based on a list of friends who are also Waze users. So, like most social networking apps, Waze provides the chance to communicate with your friend if you both are using the app at the same time.
The app also allows your friends to chat with you while you are traveling and they can also track your journey until you reach your destination.
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Disadvantages Of Waze
Just like any innovative technology, Waze also has its disadvantages. One of the most important drawbacks of the app is that it can be distracting to the driver, which is not at all a good thing on the road.
While using the app for driving, chances are high that your friends who are also on Waze might pop up on your screen. Not on;y that but sometimes ads also can pop up on the screen and there will be requests to report any incidents that might have happened on the route.
As the Waze community of the user gets larger with the addition of new friends, the chances of the pop-up also increase on the app. As the number increases, the screen tends to be filled with icons which can be quite difficult for drivers to handle.
Where Is Waze Available And Is It Free?
The application is available on both Apple Store and Google Play Store. It is free to download and can be used anywhere globally. The app generates its revenue mainly from Advertiser Supporters. The app levies a carrier data rate and also that it consumes a lot of data just for minutes.
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