The community-driven GPS app Waze has just released its updated Apple iPhone app and the latest version now includes more gaming aspects and the ability to add groups.
If you don’t know, the Waze Apple iPhone app uses crowd-sourced traffic information to deliver navigation and real-time traffic information. The company also has apps for the Research In Motion BlackBerry and Google Android which also include Twitter and Facebook integration.
The 2.0 version of Waze for the Apple iPhone really ups the ante with the gaming aspects. I’ve spoken to the company before and it believes the social gaming aspect will be a major draw moving forward.
The “Royalty” feature gives users rank symbols to show off to other users – think of this as the “Mayor” aspect from Foursquare. The Waze app also includes a dynamic scoreboard and new avatars.
The “driving groups” feature is also aimed at creating a tight-knit community and Waze explained this feature on its blog:
Basically, the idea was this: While drivers may usually be alone in their cars, they’re actually often part of a broader group. Naturally, driving groups are useful for commuters who travel from the suburbs to the city on a regular basis and would like to share specific tips about their route, but groups can also benefit fleets of professional drivers who belong to the same company, groups of friends travelling in a caravan of separate cars to a shared destination, people seeking cheap gas in a specific metro, motorcycle clubs, those looking to carpool, or any other grouping that you guys can dream up!
The latest version of the Apple iPhone app also includes a revamped map, improved search, iPhone push capabilities and different color schemes. The Apple iPhone version is available now and the update should soon hit BlackBerry and Android.
– Download Waze 2.0 for Apple iPhone (free) [iTunes Link]
[Via Waze blog]