I came across a very very cool iPhone app the other day called Waze. What is Waze ? From their site this is a very accurate description:
Waze is a social mobile application providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road.
100% powered by users, the more you drive, the better it gets. Join the community of drivers in your area today!
So what this means is that while you driving, you “build” up the roads and maps, and then the Waze community provides live traffic information on the conditions on the roads. So for example, if there is a huge traffic jam, I will report it using Waze, which alert other Waze users in the area’s not to use that road, and provide alternative routing. This can also be extended to Roadblocks, traffic lights etc etc. Once the maps have been built up, you can use it to provide routing directions to a specified destination
To get an idea of what Waze is all about, check out this guided tour from their website:
I been using the app for the last couple of days, starting to create the maps around Durbs, and so far Waze has really impressed me. Once you have started tracking the roads you been driving, you can log into the Waze site, and update the roads with the correct names and features. I’m hoping that South African users start using it, and help it become an effective means of helping our traffic problems in our country.
The app that you use to run Waze is available for the iPhone, Android, and Symbian