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I was in Israel last year and they just love Waze. Everything is Waze this and Waze that. They have an absolute belief in Waze as a brand. Most have no idea it

I was in Israel last year and they just love Waze. Everything is Waze this and Waze that. They have an absolute belief in Waze as a brand. Most have no idea it is owned by Google, nor seemed very interested when I mentioned it. So I'd say if they can get this working anywhere, it will be in a traffic-riddled country full of people who obsess over journey times and who absolutely love this brand.

EA 9y ago
A major reason it is very popular in Israel is because Waze was founded in Israel. They also got started with VC from Israeli companies.
- chrisper 9y ago
  Conan even visited their office. There is a YouTube video.
gcb0 9y ago
oh and the ads! waze in Israel shows ads on the screen every time your speed is close to stopped, and then slide them up when you start moving. it's awful. irresponsible. and gave me lots of anxiety every single time. it's probably fine for people that just want traffic info, but for actual gps guidance usage it is hell.
- ben1040 9y ago
  I see that here in the US as well. Ads for fast food restaurants or movies, quite often. Interacting with the ad would navigate you to the nearest restaurant, or theatre playing that film.
- Cthulhu_ 9y ago
  Can't you just give them money to get rid of that? I mean they have to make money somehow.
  - gcb0 9y ago
    maybe in a parallel universe where google knows monetization 101
kamaln7 9y ago
Can confirm. Just like "Kleenex" in some places, Waze has become the generic term for GPS Navigation here in Israel. Honestly, I have no idea why people still use it when Google Maps has an infinitely better interface and no ads.
- honest_george 9y ago
  Waze's routes are a little more aggressive. Which, if you spend a lot of time in a car, can add up.
- jonknee 9y ago
  > Honestly, I have no idea why people still use it when Google Maps has an infinitely better interface and no ads. In some areas it has much better traffic routing. All it takes is getting alerted to one big jam ahead of time and you'll use it every commute.
  - bduerst 9y ago
    Yep. Based on my experience: Waze takes side roads to give you the chronologically shortest route, Google Maps takes the most direct route.
- nevi-me 9y ago
  For me in South Africa: - Waze is a bit more dynamic/aggressive in finding me alternatives when traffic patterns can change due to accidents - "speed trap reported ahead" - the "turn left" direction is better timed than Google, Google will tell you to turn while your turn's still a bit far off, sometimes you'd turn into the street before. - loyalty, Waze was great before Google bought it and used its reports and traffic data, and it's still great even now. I agree with your Kleenex sentiment, quite a number of people who know their way home, still use Waze for the alerts and reports.
  - jimmaswell 9y ago
    I wish Google gave directions like "take the third left" instead of "in 1500 feet..". I don't know what 1500 feet looks like, and the mile amounts I can only estimate when I'm going around 60mph and 1 mile=1 minute.
kilroy123 9y ago
It's also very popular in Mexico. I very rarely see anyone ever using Google maps.

EA 9y ago

A major reason it is very popular in Israel is because Waze was founded in Israel. They also got started with VC from Israeli companies.

chrisper 9y ago
Conan even visited their office. There is a YouTube video.

gcb0 9y ago

oh and the ads! waze in Israel shows ads on the screen every time your speed is close to stopped, and then slide them up when you start moving. it's awful. irresponsible. and gave me lots of anxiety every single time. it's probably fine for people that just want traffic info, but for actual gps guidance usage it is hell.

ben1040 9y ago
I see that here in the US as well. Ads for fast food restaurants or movies, quite often. Interacting with the ad would navigate you to the nearest restaurant, or theatre playing that film.
Cthulhu_ 9y ago
Can't you just give them money to get rid of that? I mean they have to make money somehow.
- gcb0 9y ago
  maybe in a parallel universe where google knows monetization 101

kamaln7 9y ago

Can confirm. Just like "Kleenex" in some places, Waze has become the generic term for GPS Navigation here in Israel. Honestly, I have no idea why people still use it when Google Maps has an infinitely better interface and no ads.

honest_george 9y ago
Waze's routes are a little more aggressive. Which, if you spend a lot of time in a car, can add up.
jonknee 9y ago
> Honestly, I have no idea why people still use it when Google Maps has an infinitely better interface and no ads. In some areas it has much better traffic routing. All it takes is getting alerted to one big jam ahead of time and you'll use it every commute.
- bduerst 9y ago
  Yep. Based on my experience: Waze takes side roads to give you the chronologically shortest route, Google Maps takes the most direct route.
nevi-me 9y ago
For me in South Africa: - Waze is a bit more dynamic/aggressive in finding me alternatives when traffic patterns can change due to accidents - "speed trap reported ahead" - the "turn left" direction is better timed than Google, Google will tell you to turn while your turn's still a bit far off, sometimes you'd turn into the street before. - loyalty, Waze was great before Google bought it and used its reports and traffic data, and it's still great even now. I agree with your Kleenex sentiment, quite a number of people who know their way home, still use Waze for the alerts and reports.
- jimmaswell 9y ago
  I wish Google gave directions like "take the third left" instead of "in 1500 feet..". I don't know what 1500 feet looks like, and the mile amounts I can only estimate when I'm going around 60mph and 1 mile=1 minute.

kilroy123 9y ago

It's also very popular in Mexico. I very rarely see anyone ever using Google maps.