FTC Reviews Google's Purchase of Navigation App Waze

An anonymous reader writes "Google's acquisition of Waze has piqued the interest of the FTC and is now facing an antitrust review. "Google confirmed that it has been contacted by lawyers from the Federal Trade Commission over the company's '$1.1 billion acquisition of the mobile navigation company Waze, which closed in mid-June. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment on details of the antitrust review by the FTC. Representatives of the agency didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.'"

and i will be first to say

[Anonymous Coward]

piqued

Re:Shutting out competitor or buying up talent?

[dwillden]

Waze's maps on initial import from official sources are poor. But are rapidly exceeding the quality of the maps of services (including Google) which are built entirely by paid employees. Even Google's adoption of user editing has still lacked in the rapid update ability of Waze.

When there are active editors in an area (a key criteria) the maps are accurate and update to match new construction far more quickly. When something significant happens (for example the Hwy 89 landslide in AZ back in Feb, or the bridge collapse in WA). Waze's maps are updated within minutes of the news being reported. Google was quick on the AZ slide but still trailed by a couple days. Waze had the road disconnect, implemented and updated into the live map within 24 hours, changing the routing instructions users received to take them on one of the alternate routes. (I know, I made the edits in Waze.)

When I started with Waze I immediately liked it because of two new commuter routes that had been recently built, my Tom Tom still didn't have the older of the two routes even though it had been in existence for two years by then. Google had that one but another one that opened up just a couple weeks before was already mapped into Waze and Google didn't have it yet. Waze's maps are good, and if an area has active editors are more accurate than even Google's maps and overhead images.

I do grant that in many areas there is still much to be done, but Waze's maps even in the areas needing work are improving faster than Googles.

There are even countries with entirely user built road networks that are not only more complete but more accurate than what Google or anyone else has. Waze is NOT a one trick pony, live traffic reporting and on the fly re-routing is the primary reason for it's creation, but it has progressed beyond that point.