Waze could be pre-installed on your next Android smartphone. Right out of the box, you might see the GPS maps & traffic social app as Google is adding Waze as a pre-installed software option on Android phones. This means carriers and OEM partners can choose to have the service available by default. So when consumers turn on their phones for the first time, the Waze app is already there and ready for immediate use.
Not that downloading an app from the Google Play Store is that difficult but Waze launching Google Mobile Service means the service is strengthened. It’s still an option though much like the full-disk encryption issue we’ve recently covered. It’s really up to the OEMs and carriers to pre-install the app on their newer handsets, Google is just making it easily available.
With Waze on smartphones, Android users can be informed of real time of traffic, weather, and road conditions right on their phones. Waze is one of the most useful GPS apps today. It offers live maps, turn-by-turn voice guided navigation, community reported alerts, information on the cheapest gas station on your route, and information on local places and businesses among others.
The free social traffic and navigation app becoming a part of Google Mobile Service (GMS) is welcome news. Waze spokesperson Julie Mossler said “the announcement of Waze as a Google Mobile Service is the next step to become a platform that connects communities of citizens with the aim of promoting safer road”. This development could connect more cities and local markets as made possible by OEMs and carriers and through the Waze Connected Citizens program.
Spokesperson Mossler is positive that this can also help “improve city efficiency and civilian connectedness”. A big telecom preinstalling Waze in phones would mean “a large percentage of the population would immediately have access to blocked roads, dangerous intersections traffic and more in real time”, Mossler added.
Launched a couple of years ago, the Waze Connected Citizens program aims to connect more than 20 municipalities, the department of transportation, and law enforcement with the citizens, thanks to this free two-way public data sharing option.
VIA: Android Central
