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Google buys Waze for 1.1B?

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My wife just told me that Google bought Waze for 1.1B.

Congratulations Ehud and clan!

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Post by AlanOfTheBerg
There are a lot of articles posted today with varying amounts.
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Post by AlanOfTheBerg
nnote wrote:Mabye then we can get some updated aerials imaging for editing?! Right now it's very outdated. I think the last google map updated aerials in my area is around jan/feb of this year.
Not for me. Most aerials in my neck of the woods are clearer and more recent in bing.
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Post by AlanOfTheBerg
nnote wrote:???!!! Right now in PHX the aerials are (in the map editor) atleast a year old?! At least...maybe more
It's a bit patchy, though, too. Maybe it wouldn't make a huge difference. About 50/50.
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Post by AlanOfTheBerg
It's now officially announced/blogged/tweeted. We can still chat about it here. No details on the actual amount yet, though.
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Post by AlanOfTheBerg
wox33 wrote:Any word on distribution of that 1.3 Billion to all the users keeping Waze maps updated and relevant in the mapping ecosytem? I'm ranked around 240 in my state. That should be worth a couple thousand, right? ;)
While I too would welcome a cash for my time spent, I doubt the various investors like Microsoft who put up actual money, would agree to parting with any of their profit.
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Post by banished
This would have been more interesting if Waze had bought Google Maps. C'est la vie.

The NSA called. We can track you, now.
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Post by banished
Pay to go: Exporting Waze IP costs Google NIS 800m

http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/ ... 1000908884
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Post by bretmcvey
I've personally enjoyed Waze as a standalone option for well over a year, but congrats (if things become official) for the Waze team. It's obviously unfortunate that this will likely mean the numerous edits will be for naught in the long run.

Hypothetical positives and negatives going forward...

Negatives of the Google Buyout
  • Waze maps edits likely being scrapped entirely
  • The loss of a visually superior navigation client (compare with Google Map's navigation mode)
  • The loss of live reporting (unless they adopt the Waze user reporting mindset, Google hasn't done anything involving user reporting in relation to the maps other than rating points of interest)
Positives of the Google Buyout
  • Integration of Waze client engine for rendering navigation routes (compare with Google Maps and see how there's far less visual clutter now that the Waze client suppresses nearby road names)
  • Better POI searching (given it will be via the Google Maps app, but Google does have a more robust listing points of interest and with geo locations that will give more precise directions to a destination)
  • Editor elements making their way to Google Mapmaker
  • Integrating aspects of Waze (maybe user reporting and live user traffic data) in with Google Maps
  • The addition of the talented Waze team with the Google Maps team
There's lots more positives and negatives I'm sure to be factored... it will be interesting to play the waiting game to see how this all shakes out.
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Post by bretmcvey
Hopefully Google/Waze will have a roadmap soon. The announcement is likely and understandably going to result in numerous editors abandoning both Waze and making updates in the editor. I'm more a fan of Waze than I ever was Google Map Maker and updating the Google Maps. I've had updates that are still awaiting review that were made over a year ago in Map Maker. Waze has always been responsive and direct.

Some kind of direction would be appreciated... such as Google's vector street data replaces what's presently in the Waze editor.... some kind of direction or idea of what to expect. As it stands now Waze saying things will keep running as they are doesn't really have a convincing ring to it to validate sticking around and updating map data that's destined for the scrap heap.

Hopefully both parties will figure something out soon after some evaluation so avid editors know they won't be wasting their time/effort.

Congrats though to the Waze team for being so highly sought after!
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Post by bretmcvey
wox33 wrote:I would hope that Google and Waze decide that it is best to keep their applications as separate entities as they have separate functions. To me, Goggle Maps is a search platform. Searching for businesses or activities around your area, and then helping navigate to them with the built-in gps navigation. Waze on the other hand is a commuter GPS routing application first and foremost.
Google Maps has the cartography, search, navigation (with somewhat live traffic data viewing), and exploration approach... Waze has search, navigation and live traffic reporting/viewing. The biggest difference I ever saw between the two clients from the navigation sense was that Waze actively wanted you to drive with the app open and ideally think about where you're going whenever you drive. Google Maps is just there as a tool to use as needed.

With so much in common in terms of basic purposes other than user traffic reporting, I just don't see how they plan to keep both separate for long.
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