I’ve been lucky enough to be testing out a new GPS navigation application for Symbian-powered smartphones called Waze. Waze is already launched on the iPhone and in the Android Market, and should be available for Symbian-powered smartphones very soon. Waze offers free live traffic and other road condition updates, as well as free voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation throughout the U.S. and other countries, and its information is user-generated. Basically, Waze is, quite literally, based on ‘the more the merrier.’
Overview
The premise of Waze is simple – you leave the application running as you drive around – whether you’re currently using the navigation or not. You get points as you drive on new roads, which is indicated with a Pacman-like animation on your map. The application then uses this information to build its database, as well as to assess road conditions. If Waze knows that a road has a speed limit of 50 mph, for instance, but you’re only driving 20 mph, it will pop up a small box, asking if you’re currently experiencing traffic. You can then say yes or no, quite easily. If you say yes, this information is then stored, and passed out to other Wazers in the area, so that they’re aware of the traffic issue.
The best part of Waze, though, and what really sets it apart, in my opinion, is the user-generated reports that you can file. While driving around, if you, say, pass a police officer running radar on the other side of the road, you can quickly and easily report this, so that other Wazers in the area can slow down, and avoid the ticket. It’s the digital equivalent of flashing your lights to warn others. You can also report accidents, construction, or other road conditions easily through the one-click pop-up menu.
Symbian Client
The application runs great on the Nokia N79 and E71, both in portrait and landscape modes, and I’m sure will work great on other devices, as well. There is currently no support for S60v5 devices, though with Waze currently available for iPhone and Android, it’s only a matter of time for the S60v5 support to be available. The application is a 1.8MB file, so it will use a bit of storage, and RAM usage is several MB, though I was able to easily minimize the application to accept phone calls or SMS while in use, so it certainly shouldn’t freeze your phone.
This is the main screen of Waze, shown on the N79 in landscape mode. You can see I was driving down I-35, which was previously unmapped, as indicated by the white Pacman dots. The green banner shows your points accumulation, as well as your total and your current rank against other Wazers. This information is obviously unnecessary, but makes it fun to keep the application running.
Here you can see the visually friendly report menu, which pops up as soon as you click the center d-pad. Even better, a pushpin is placed on the map immediately when you open this menu, so that the information is still accurate, even if you take a few seconds to type in a full report.
Here you can see the options menu, where you can search for a destination, view the live info, adjust your settings, or even easily recommend Waze to a friend via SMS.
The live info screen allows you to scroll through a list version of the various reports that have been sent in, and you can also easily browse these sorted by type, if you want.
Conclusion
The Symbian version of Waze is still in closed Alpha, with various visual bugs that you can probably quickly see in these screenshots. However, the application itself is stable, and did not freeze or crash on me at all, which is a good sign. The Waze team is unsure of when the Symbian version will be publicly available, but we will be sure to let you know as soon as it is. If you have an iPhone or an Android device, you can download Waze now and get started, and I highly recommend that you do.
While I’m personally a bit navigation fan, and I currently use Ovi Maps quite often, I really like the idea behind Waze. It’s a no-brainer to use live statistics to determine road conditions, and the ability for users to quickly and easily report issues is a major plus. However, I think the real winning component of Waze is the community, what with the points generated and all. That provides me with incentive to keep the application running anytime I’m in the car, whether I’m using the navigation feature or not, and is the key to user-generated systems such as Waze.
Here’s a video walkthrough that Waze has put together, showing off the various aspects of the service.
