WAZE not so great?

Has anyone run into problems with some of their contacts' facial icons (especially on a Favorite's list)disappearing and reverting to a generic shadow image after installing and uninstalling Waze? (Android smartphone). It seemed to have happened suddenly on my wife's HTC One Mini when we ran into a password problem with Waze and uninstalled it. Yes, Waze messes with the contacts for some strange reason.

It's Google and they are mining personal information regarding your contacts.

I linked my calendar and notes to Gmail when I first installed it. When I removed the link to those two items, Google whacked all my notes and calendar entries. I had to mine my Gmail info and put them all back. I'm now afraid to uinlink my contacts.... iPhone 5c

The Garmin and Waze were both burning. Both had their pros and cons. I used both to most effectively skirt issues and stay safe. I can't say I would use one over the other. I liked having them both up there in front of me. Waze routes way faster (if you have cellular connections at the time...), but you pay for data with that solution. The Garmin cannot tell me when a road is effectively closed 3 miles ahead (I-64 yesterday afternoon). It was easier for me to route to a waypoint with the Garmin. Once I got back to familiar territory, both devices were back-seated to trip logging (Garmin) and condition reports (Waze).

Since I received my iPhone a few months ago, I started using it for routing (realtime traffic and avoidances is a big plus), and leave the nuvi for trip logging, and perhaps the occasional friend's address.

I'm not impressed with Waze. I know a close relative raves about it but I think Waze has a way to go. One thing I would like to have is an audible alert for selected warnings instead of the driver (me) referring to the screen. Just not safe that way in densely populated and high traffic areas.

Not sure what's lacking in your perspective. My iGadget alerts me a half mile (customizable) before any situation, as to what's coming up. (hazard, weather, police, accident, etc) The only issue is in very congested areas, the alerts don't sound if there are too many. That's understandable, because here in NY, when I'm moving at 5 MPH, I wouldn't get to the alert before 5 or 6 minutes...

Lately, its been redirecting me through to lots of traffic and the traffic information isn't correct.

...with old or lacking information, but you have to remember that it's the other users that input to the (Borg) collective. If everyone just lurks out there expecting free info, then there won't be any. Folks need to update when they see issues to keep the machine humming. Some days are worse than others. Weekends seem lacking as compared to the weekday road warriors. My observation. Additionally I have noticed that rural and less traveled roads also have less reports. Also, there have been a few times that a road looks fine, until I get onto it, then it changes from neutral to a nice crimson red...

Hate it when you have the last second dreaded change to red!

Waze used to be more user friendly. It has now removed the ability to report anonymously and rain is not included in the weather hazard selections. Lost 8000 pts. in nov. update and had to restart as baby wazer.

i like it, but can't even come close to my garmin

I use Waze mostly when I encounter a nonstandard backup -- not the usual traffic or commute pattern. Then it's really useful, as I can "see" the speeds of other vehicles and possibly a clue as to what the ! is going on ahead of me and do I want to keep going that way or bail as soon as I can...

Where Waze is bugging me is in the notifications it sends -- help us improve maps, those kinds of things. Not as bad as the whining "A lot has happened at Facebook since your last visit" -- no, nothing that I care about has happened at Facebook since I last visited.

Reminds me of a little dog we took care of for a while. No matter which side of the door it was on, it whined and wanted on the other side.

(guess I'm getting grumpy again...)

I like WAZE for the pothole feature. Since its Pothole Season in this area, knowing a tire-popping, tie-rod bending crater is coming up is a good thing to know.

Interesting...that helps explain some of what I noticed too

Thanks for the article. There is definitely a market if you can enrich the traditional traffic reporting and incident data with real-time feedback from applications from Waze. I never viewed it as an either/or situation, but rather an and situation where one set of data adds to the value of the other.

The key is to be able to accurately interpret the meanings of these hopefully interrelating sets of data. Otherwise confusion from analysis paralysis could set in.

I just toured the US on my annual two week vacation from the daily grind. I took along my Garmin, which I had actually just left on the windshield to track where I've been, and Waze which I use daily now. I have to admit that my company pays my unlimited data bill, so that was never a concern. That being said, I have found that Waze use isn't as popular around all states as it is here in the NY metro area. I traveled miles sometimes before I saw another Wazer on the screen, or even a road report. Some states where I posted reports, I never received a thank you. That though could just be that folks there don't reply to alerts. The best part though, was cruising between Page, Arizona and Denver, Colorado. Waze was unable to plot a course between those two locations. Not too long afterward, I found out why. The map just stopped. Just before the edge of the data signal came around, the Waze map just turned white and my car drove along through what appeared to be fog. It was humorous. Of course having the Garmin perched on the dashboard, I just gave the navigating responsibilities over to my 500 and life was grand once again. The only areas that appeared to have limited Waze map coverage was the AZ-CO corridor. As expected, drivers in the major cities, suburbs and on the interstates used Waze much more than the fringe areas.

Just my take after 7500 miles in two weeks.

If others are experiencing the same lack of audio alert problem that I am with Waze, It may be they just aren't being alerted to your reports.

After about 30 minutes of use, the Waze audio dies on my iPhone 5S and requires a reboot. Unless I'm looking at the screen, I miss the alert. The problem was supposed to be fixed with IO 8.3 but it has not.

I've found Waze to be much more accurate and up to date than gthe Traffic function on any of my Garmin units.

I recently heard of instances of false reports of road-closures being inputted into Waze as pranks by youngin's, causing some havoc. I guess this is a 21st century version of ring-and-run.

I used to use waze but I found that google maps with traffic was far more accurate. I have a garmin with traffic but generally, google maps gives me the best info.