Waze, the social turn-by-turn navigation app for your phone, has added a new feature to their iPhone app that allows users to generate voice alerts warning other users of road hazards ahead. This new feature allows Waze users to quickly record a voice annotation to their road hazard reports that other users will hear when they approach the area.
If you’ve never used Waze, it’s a compelling idea. After users install the app on their phone (available not only for iPhone but also Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, and beta for BlackBerry), they need only have the app running while they drive around. The app automatically captures route and traffic flow information from your GPS location, and then determines how heavy the traffic is and sends that information in real time to other users. If you want to take a more active role, you can manually add road hazards and speed traps, although you may not want to do so while driving. For safety reasons, Waze automatically disables text entry when it detects that you are in motion.
The service is free, and relies on having more users to give a better representation of traffic, as well as adding areas to the maps. You can also log in to the Waze site from your computer if you want to add more information to maps and make corrections. As of December 2010 there were 2.2 million Waze users, and the number is steadily growing.
Check out the new release of the iOS app today. It’s a universal app, and it’s free.
Article Via The Next Web
