Today we will be reviewing two new Free GPS applications, and each of them have their own set of valuable features.

I took both of these applications out for a road test, by picking a very difficult to find location downtown address and I started the navigation from the the expressway for both WAZE and AMAZE.

The first contender was WAZE:

And as I continued down the highway, I realized that the directions recommended almost past the downtown area, so I quickly jumped off at the next exit.  Unfortunately, and really quite comically, I went on a “wild goose chase” for about 7 minutes that ejected me right back onto the highway speeding my away from my destination at about 60 mph.  I did receive a warning during navigation that the accuracy of navigation might be lacking until the routes are “learned” by local “Wazers”.  I found out the hard way that I should not yet rely on this application to get me to timely affairs until a time in the near future when more users in my area drive the local roads and the navigation accuracy improves. 

I then got off at a subsequent highway exit and entered the coordinates into the second contenders application, AMAZE and turned the car around and headed back towards downtown.  I was directed by AMAZE to get off at one of the first downtown exits and after approximately 2 or 3 turns I ended up in front of the location.  The voice prompts were clear and quickly found my destination, however, I missed my appointment because of the inaccurate navigation of the previous GPS navigation

So, for accuracy and finding a difficult location I was amazed with the performance of AMAZE and let down by WAZE.

However, in all fairness I will give you my impressions of the other features found in both of these GPS Apps:

WAZE excelled in the Social aspect of having a GPS and provided user entered information regarding current traffic issues, including accidents.  It is possible for a user to quickly add an event and have it posted on the communal GPS experience.  The maps moved smoothly, they were not very detailed.

By simply driving around with WAZE activated you collect points and the more points collected increase your Community Member Ranking Status.

• participants driving habits improve the maps
• user data collected while having WAZE activated sends data  regarding streets including average speeds. 
• sharing events with other “Wazers” such as accident reports and heavy traffic events, it is possible to collect more points and help others reroute from road closures and construction. 
• PC Map Editing allows users to update maps with new roads and house numbers for improved navigation. 
• Wazers can show their moods, which displays to other users as a WAZE user icon on the area map.  Other Wazers can see your car and position and you can see their positions as well, as per the screenshots above. 

It was fun seeing the “Live” user reports and accident and traffic updates, per the screenshot above.

AMAZE on the other hand was ready out-of-the-box and had many options for Map display, including Satellite and Hybrid maps and the navigation was easy to use and for accuracy it can’t be beat.

• The Turn-by-turn voice guided navigation was very clear, as well as the timing was good, that is, you had ample time before an upcoming turn or destination.
• I really enjoyed the 3D (birds eye view) which is similar to popular “paid” navigations.  It is possible to turn on Satellite Navigation in 3D mode so you can see moving satellite imagery of the areas that you are navigating.
• It is possible to choose routing preferences such as shortest distance or fastest route.
• I really enjoyed the automated Day and Night modes so you can easily see at night with a darker background and softer color than daytime mode.
• It was a nice feature to see an overview of the next five day weather overview as shown in the screenshot.  The weather overview icon for the day is displayed in the upper right hand corner of the navigation screens, as well.
• Safety Camera and Traffic conditions can be displayed.
• Social Networking of locations using SMS helps you keep in touch with your friends.

Ability to Search by Address, Favorites, Keywords, etc. per the screenshot below.  It was easy to find a navigation destination using the many search options.

So here is a recap of what I liked:

• GPS user built live data, that shows in real time, creating a GPS software is truly user driven.
• The ability to report from your phone on roadside incidents “live” to inform other Wazers.
• Updating of maps by users via their PCs.
• Maximized User Participation.

Wish list:

• Satellite detail on maps would make navigation easier.
• Improvement needed in accuracy of Navigation

WAZE is currently available for the following mobile operating systems:

• IPHONE
• ANDROID
• WINDOWS MOBILE
• SYMBIAN

So here is a recap of what I liked:

• The Turn-by-turn voice guided navigation
• 3D Satellite Bird’s Eye view
• Ease of Zoom Controls
• Choice of Shortest Distance or Fastest Route
• Ability to get a 5 Day Weather Forecast.
• Accuracy of Navigation “Out of the box”
• Ability to Search with many options.
• Safety Camera and Traffic Conditions can be displayed
• Social Networking via SMS

Wish list:

None…I really like this freeware GPS application.

Amaze is currently available for the following mobile operating systems:

• JAVA
• ANDROID
• BLACKBERRY

COMING SOON:

WINDOWS MOBILE AND IPHONE SUPPORT (However, please note that I was able to run the JAVA version on my Window Mobile Phone without any problems)

Related posts:

1. Google Maps Navigation, Free Turn by Turn Navigation from Google!
2. New NAVIGON 2200t GPS Navigator
3. Google Maps Mobile Now Works With GPS
4. TomTom Promises Free Lifetime Map Updates On Selected Personal Navigation Devices (Q2, 2010)
5. How Cool Would it be to have an SDIO GPS?