Crowd-sourcing the traffic

NOW THAT ALMOST every smartphone has a built-in GPS, the market for software that uses it is picking up speed. Tomtom, Garmin, Navigon and other conventional GPS companies are having to change their strategies away from dedicated navigation devices towards software for cellphones. In that sector they're up against new players in the market that were born on phones and use unconventional ways of providing their services - sometimes without a cost to the user.

Google Maps Navigation recently became available for users of top-end devices based on the Android operating system, providing free maps and navigation. Not long after a new company called Waze contacted me to try out its software. Waze is part GPS navigation solution and part social network. Its maps are developed by its users, which saves it the huge costs of either commissioning its own map data or buying it from a provider.

As you drive around with Waze running on your phone, you can enter a mode that records where you are driving and creates map data. So when you get back to your computer you can log on to the Waze website at www.waze.com and add street names and other information. As Waze gathers more information about your area it becomes possible to use it as a navigation solution, which is where it becomes really handy, as it allows you to share traffic and other information with other Waze users.

For example, if you run into heavy traffic you can take a picture of the affected roads with your cellphone camera and then send it, with details, to the Waze service. Waze will immediately let other users in the area know about it, or they can see the notification on the website. If they're navigating and traffic information pops up, Waze will navigate around it.

On the Waze website you can also access a map of your area, or country, and watch other users driving in real time.

It's available for iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian and will work on just about any smartphone on the market.