Using smart phones as navigation tools is all the rage these days, what with a slew of applications available for the iPhone and Android platforms that utilize those devices' built-in GPS systems in determining users' real-time location.
One such service is from Waze, which in August released its iPhone app after being available on Android for several months. Waze's service is meant to help drivers figure out where they are and how best to get where they're going, all with the help of a large community of other motorists.
Waze gives users many different views of the road, including this one, in which users' avatars turn into a Pac-Man-type creature when going down previously undiscovered roads.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)Among the information that Waze provides are traffic flow, road reports, and warnings about where drivers might run into speed traps.
At DemoFall 09 in San Diego on Tuesday, Waze plans to unveil its latest steps forward, which include rolling out its service on every major smart phone platform (except BlackBerry) and offering, for the first time, voice prompts for directions.
That could be good news for users of, say, Symbian-based smart phones, in cities where AT&T service is spotty. And that's important because even in a city like San Francisco, using Waze on an iPhone--with AT&T as the only service provider--meant being subject to areas where there was a significant delay in information showing up on the screen.
Further, because the service will now be available on other platforms, it means that the overall amount of data available to drivers--via the crowdsourced nature of the system--will be broader. And, because users until now have had to occasionally look at their small screens to see where they need to go, the voice prompts may well mean an easier--and safer--way to get to a destination.
Waze's application begins as a standard turn-by-turn directions tool and also offers a slew of other features, many of which give drivers something fun to look out for as they make their way to wherever they're going.
"At the end of the day," said Di-Ann Eisnor, Waze's community geographer, Waze is "about a community of drivers helping to build this map."
The company is counting on one part being fun for drivers: seeing where anyone else who's using the system is.
That may be fun for a while, but the application is really about making for a better driving experience, and that will rely on a critical mass of users. Rolling out on Android and iPhone first was a good way to ensure a significant number of drivers, especially tech-savvy ones, had access to it right from the get-go. But only time will tell if the new platforms the service will be on will make a difference in producing that critical mass.
For CNET News' latest coverage from DemoFall 09, click here.
Israeli start-up Waze is at the Where 2.0 conference this week showing off its service for collecting real-time traffic and driving condition data from its users. Currently running on 80,000 smartphones in Israel, Waze shows you traffic flows on highways, and unlike other traffic services, it also shows it on side streets, and it creates routing advice based on that data.
The service allows users to report accidents, speed traps, cops by the side of the road, and other traffic-related items. What's cool is that these items fade automatically over time, and there's also the possibility for the system to ping a driver as he or she passes a previously reported incident to see if it's still there.
Waze on a mobile device shows you nearby traffic and incidents.
(Credit: Waze)CEO Noam Bardin tells me that in Israel, Waze doesn't even use commonly available street maps as its base layer of data. Instead, it tracks users (with their permission), and builds maps from those traces. Then it asks users to name the roads.
In a technology utopia, this product makes beautiful sense. But the real world is messy. You can't roll out a peer-to-peer traffic service and expect it to work perfectly from day one, since it needs a critical mass of users. Realistically, Waze is going to have to roll out its service, in big countries like the U.S., region by region. However, smartphone app stores are national, so there may be unhappy users from under-represented locations. (At least in the U.S., the company will use existing maps as a starting place.)
Then there's the safety question. While the demo I saw, on an Android phone, had simple and big buttons on it like "speed camera," it still represents a distraction, and in our society all it will take is one user causing an accident while reporting another to put the hurt on this feature.
I'll leave privacy and power consumption issues as exercises for the reader.
It's also worth noting that in-car navigator company Dash Navigation launched a product with a similar vision, and it hasn't really worked as business. The company, which originally made navigation hardware, is now just in the software licensing business. The consumer navigation products were never price-competitive with the increasingly higher-powered run-of-the mill navigators from the likes of Garmin and TomTom.
Bardin also belives that Dash's problem was mostly on money side: The unit was too expensive, and furthermore, he says, "If you want to have a community product, you can't charge the members." He points to services like YouTube that take content from, and provide value to, their users, but that have to go to other routes, like advertising, to make money.
Waze, Bardin says, will be a free app for the smartphone users who get it from Waze directly. Revenues will come from selling ads, and from selling the technology other companies (like mobile carriers) to package or re-sell.
When the iPhone 3.0 software comes out, and with it the new terms of service for developers that allow the release of turn-by-turn navigation products, we're going to see several products competitive with standard dedicated dash-top navigators. Waze is different from almost every other navigation product I've seen, but I hope it succeeds, if only because I like the idea of a route navigation system that gets better as more people use it.
In the U.S., Waze is in alpha testing now, for Android users only.
The Web app shows you all the Waze drivers.
(Credit: Waze)
Google has two new applications that let users of its Latitude service share their location with people who are not using the service.
The first, for Google's Talk service, will update your chat status with your location (at a city level) every time you check in with Latitude. The other is a badge you can stick on your blog or social-networking profile that shows precisely where you are.
It looks like this:
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Just like embedding a Google Map, you can pick the terrain type and zoom level, and it pumps out some simple code for you, including a link back to Google Latitude.
Google is promising more Latitude applications. Yahoo has already beaten Google to the punch on one front, with its Friends on Fire application for Facebook, which lets users share their location with other Facebook buddies using Yahoo's competing Fire Eagle service.
You've seen them in movies: tracking devices so small they can be put inside a tooth or embedded under the skin. In reality, tracking devices--for the general public at least--are not that tiny, but they can be pretty diminutive.
Lightning GPS introduced a small tracking device on Wednesday called the Spark Nano. Of course, you'll need to take the "Nano" notion with a big grain of salt. The device is actually about the size of a 9-Volt battery--you know, the big one that's used in a smoke detector. The Spark Nano is, however, rugged and waterproof.
The new Spark Nano GPS tracking device.
(Credit: sfs)Its size means you can easily install the Spark Nano on the object that needs tracking; you can clip it on a person's belt or put it inside your kids' backpack to keep tab of their whereabouts. The Spark Nano also features a panic button that the wearer can use to alert people if he or she is in danger. The alert would show exactly where the person wearing the tracking device was located.
For people at home, the Spark Nano can be tracked in real time via a Web site, either with a computer or via a smartphone. It can also be set to periodically send e-mails and text messages indicating the location of the tracked object.
The Spark Nano has a built-in rechargeable battery that can power the device for five continuous days with a full charge. It sports "Safety Zone" Technology that alerts you when the tracked object arrives at a target or exits a predefined area.
The new GPS tracking device is available now and costs $299.95. It also requires a service plan that starts at another $45 a month.
Google on Thursday released an application called My Tracks that turns the T-Mobile G1 Android phone into a full-fledged GPS receiver.
The free software can record tracks showing where you've been, display them on a map, show elevation gains and losses, and share data with various online services.
As a geography buff, I have to confess that this one of the first applications that actually got me excited. I carry a Garmin standalone GPS device so I can geotag my photos and keep track of my trips, but My Tracks one-ups it in several ways.
For one thing, it's a phone and therefore much more likely to be toted at all times, not just on dedicated occasions. But more important, it's an Internet-enabled device, which means it shows my position on Google Maps--either map mode or satellite image mode, not just the feeble and expensive Garmin Maps--as long as it can find the Internet. Track data can be saved not just as a GPX file, but also uploaded and shared with Google Maps. And statistics can be uploaded into Google Docs spreadsheets or even Twittered (for example using the Twidroid application).
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GPS vendor TomTom announced Thursday that it has launched an online mapping solution to compete with MapQuest and Google Maps. Dubbed TomTom Route Planner, the free service provides door-to-door route planning options to any address in the U.S. or Canada.
Using TomTom's MapShare technology, the service provides users with continued map improvements made by TomTom users that see flaws and correct them. According to the company, improvements are uploaded regularly to provide up-to-date driving conditions. TomTom's IQ Routes feature will offer more accurate arrival estimates by accessing average speeds for each road instead of employing posted speed limits to determine arrival. The service is currently in beta and available now to all users.
Local.com, a company that offers local search and networking, announced Thursday that it has signed an agreement with coupon provider Valpak to distribute local business offers through the Local.com network. According to the company, Valpak coupons will appear on the site's search results and profile pages. Users will be able to print the Valpak coupons for redemption at local businesses.
The Karaoke Channel Online, a service that lets people record themselves singing their favorite songs, says that it will now allow its users to publish their recordings across Facebook, MySpace, Delicious, and other social networks. To participate, users will need to pay $14.95 per month for unlimited access to the site's 5,000 songs. A full-year membership costs $99.95.
In its monthly Global Threat Report released Thursday, SaaS (software as a service) Web security firm ScanSafe reported that the rate of zero-day malware blocks increased to 26 percent in November, up from 16 percent in October and the 19 percent average for the year. According to the company's senior security researcher, Mary Landesman, "attackers were more intent than ever on ensuring the malware they used would bypass traditional security measures" during November. A sign of even more Web threats to come?
Goober Networks, a company that offers consumer communication services online, announced the launch of CallingAmerica.com Thursday. According to the company, the site will allow anyone in the U.S. to access the site and place an unlimited number of VoIP calls to any landline or mobile phone in the U.S. Registered users can make an unlimited number of calls, while those who choose not to register can only place calls that last no longer than two minutes in duration. To monetize the service, Goober Networks has partnered with advertisers that will place ads of 15 seconds or less before a call is placed.
ClarionMind integrates the Internet and GPS.
(Credit: Clarion)
At the Intel Developer Forum, Clarion launched the production version of ClarionMind, a portable GPS device with full Internet connectivity that runs on Linux. Clarion showed off a concept of the device at last January's CES. The full product launch reveals a device that looks similar to current GPS devices, featuring a 4.8-inch 800x480-pixel touch screen. And, like some current GPS devices, the ClarionMind offers media playback and Bluetooth for hands-free calling.
What sets it apart is Wi-Fi and software for various Internet applications, including a Web browser and e-mail. It includes viewers for YouTube, Google Maps, MySpace, and weather. According to the news release, Clarion integrated Internet search and GPS functions, so that you can search for local businesses and feed the addresses into the destination entry. Along with in-vehicle navigation and Internet use, the device is also designed to work as a portable Internet appliance in the home or anywhere else.
The ClarionMind runs on an Intel Atom processor and includes 512 MB of DRAM along with 4 gigabytes of flash memory. There are two USB ports and an SD card slot. According to Clarion, a vehicle dock will also be available, and that the device has an "Automobile Mode for safe access behind the wheels." We hope this last feature isn't too restrictive, although from the devices description, it can easily be defeated.
ClarionMind will ship in the fourth quarter.
For the most part, the only person you can socialize with on a handheld GPS navigator is the chick who tells you to turn left after 100 yards.
Garmin wants to change that. The device manufacturer has partnered with location-based app company ULocate to bring its Where.com software, previously available only on compatible cell phones and carriers, to some of its devices. (It hasn't said which ones specifically.) This will give Garmin owners access to Where's own Buddy Beacon software, which shares users' current locations with friends. It can be hooked up to Where's Facebook application, too, so you can tell your friends where you are.
Personally, sharing my location isn't exactly what first comes to mind when I use an in-car GPS navigator, but some of Where's other services sound helpful: Yelp reviews, gas price comparisons from GasBuddy, and a handful of others. Unfortunately, a Where representative told me on Tuesday, those aren't encompassed in the Garmin deal.
Location-sharing has been met with some skepticism. Many people thought that location-based social-networking and friend-finding applications would explode after the launch of the iPhone 3G, but we still haven't seen an epidemic of location-sharing take off. Many cell phone owners seem to be perfectly OK not having everyone on their Facebook friends list know where they are.
I might be sold if Where makes its gas price widget available to Garmin. That's something that Ms. "After 1.1 miles, take the exit right" hasn't yet been able to offer me.
This post was updated at 6:22 a.m. PT on Tuesday to clarify that only the Buddy Beacon widget will be available on select Garmin devices.
GeoGraffiti is a geolocation service that centers on little voice notes users can leave all over the world. Before having a native iPhone application it was a voice service you could call into and leave a note that would be associated with whatever ZIP code or telephone number entered through your phone's keypad. It wasn't the most exact system, and to remedy that parent company Slingpost has been working on a native iPhone application that makes use of the handset's GPS to make the voice notes a little more precise.
In its pocket form GeoGraffiti is now quite a bit smarter. You can use it to browse "voicemarks," which are other users' recorded messages from wherever you are. It doesn't say how close or far the radius is, but I'm assuming it's only about one to two miles--if that. Since I'm in the middle of San Francisco I found two nearby voicemarks, both with fairly precise geographic information, including addresses. These are the same voicemarks that have been created on phones as well as on an accompanying Google Maps mashup. The app does not make the distinction as to which platform they originate from.
The app will constantly ping for your location, and if you're on the move it will update every few minutes. If you're driving your car, you can set it to "hands free" mode, which will call your phone and transmit any new, local voicemarks via a telephone call. It would be nice if you could just have it funnel through the app to save voice minutes, but it's almost like a radar detector for messages.
This app reminds me of some of the local note applications that I've seen getting buzz on the app store (see Graffitio, NearPics, and Zintin). There's a certain human fascination with scribbled graffiti and notes written in guest books. This is a smart play on that. I wouldn't be surprised to see people take advantage of something like this to create their own scavenger hunt or to leave messages for friends, making it a platform of its own. Adding some things like special password-protected drop boxes or easter eggs would definitely take it to the next level.
To see a demo of the service in action I've embedded an early look below. Just note it was produced before the creators got their hands on the new hardware.
Fire Eagle, Yahoo's formerly experimental geolocation platform, is officially opening up to all users, and several companies are announcing products that work with it.
A refresher: Fire Eagle is a storehouse for personal location information. If you tell Fire Eagle where you are, or have applications or devices that can do so on your behalf, then other applications can grab that info (with your permission) and provide you geo-related services or social network features.
Tom Coates launches Fire Eagle at Yahoo's Brickhouse technology incubator.
(Credit: Rafe Needleman / CNET)One of the most interesting parts of Fire Eagle is its variable privacy feature. Even if Fire Eagle knows precisely at what address you are, you can set it to only release more general information, like the city, to certain apps or certain groups, or you can restrict location reporting by time. There's also a "hide me" button you can press if you want to shut down location reporting for a period of time.
At the Fire Eagle launch event today, Yahoo highlighted three companies using the service:
• Pownce, the Twitter-ish nanoblog service. Having location available in this type of product really does change how users interact. See also Twinkle, a Twitter-compatible nanoblog service for the iPhone.
• Movable Type. The blog platform will get automatic location reporting for its authors and in its Action Stream service. It wasn't discussed at the launch but one assumes the new social network products will also get support.
• Outside.in, a local news and community site. It will use Fire Eagle to automatically find the info that's relevant to your location.
Other companies announcing services that work with Fire Eagle include: Brightkite, Dash, Dipity, Dopplr, ekit, Lightpole, Navizon, Loki, Outalot, Plazes, Spot, and Zkout. These companies are primarily location service providers or rudimentary social networks. I am looking forward to seeing major social nets (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, FriendFeed) and other data and news sites (Google Maps, Digg, CNN, Eventful), add Fire Eagle support.
The business
Asked what was in this initiative for Yahoo, there are two official answers. Yahoo co-founder David Filo told me, "We really wanted this functionality for Yahoo services. But by opening it up for the rest of the Web, consumers are more likely to adopt it."
Fire Eagle czar Tom Coates also said that there are possible direct revenues from the service, if Yahoo at some point decides to create a business version of the service for heavy users, like advertisers.
Yes, advertisers. While Fire Eagle will not be advertising-supported, marketers could create location-based programs that use the service. The Yahoo team is adamant that Fire Eagle will be permission-based, though, so users won't end up giving their location away to services without their knowledge.
Previous coverage:
You are here, sort of.
Fire Eagle geolocation service: Halfway there.
Fire Eagle's missing apps.
