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A Free Alternative to Waze Is Finally Available and the World Seriously Needs It

Waze is without a doubt one of the best navigation apps out there, and what sets it apart from the rest of the crowd is the huge community that helps keep the maps accurate and up-to-date with every little change that’s happening out there.
TomTom Navigation on iPhone 6 photos
Photo: TomTom
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Furthermore, this large community contributes non-stop with traffic reports, so others can know in advance when they’re approaching a speed trap, roadkill, a construction zone, or simply a traffic jam that could slow them down.

The community-driven engine has turned Waze into a must-have weapon in the modern arsenal of a daily driver, and this is how the Google-owned app ended up becoming one of the most downloaded on both iPhone and Android.

But on the other hand, Waze has long been pretty much the only app offering such capabilities, despite smaller developers in the development of their own alternatives, sometimes to no avail. It’s not easy to build a large userbase that can contribute with live reports and suggest map edits, so only a company with proven experience in the navigation software market can do this.

TomTom is one of the giants ready to get involved in a battle against Waze, as its AmiGO navigation app proposes a similar approach based on the power of the community.

The company says its userbase counts half a billion drivers that can contribute with real-time updates, therefore providing users with up-to-date traffic info, alerts, online routing, and everything else.

Similar to Waze, AmiGO allows users to report essential traffic data, such as jams, speed camera locations, blocked and closed roads, accidents, and more, and TomTom says it analyzes and verifies the information to make sure only accurate data is offered to others.

In other words, TomTom AmiGO should offer only super-accurate reports that help generate a faster and safer route to a destination, all while avoiding sections of the road flagged by others.

TomTom says AmiGO is and will remain completely free, with no plans to ever introduce ads or start selling user data. The app is available on both iPhone and Android, and more recently, it also received support for Android Auto.

At the end of the day, competition is a boost to innovation, and as far as Waze is concerned, this is a must-have, especially as the Google-owned company has long been the only solid choice in this side of the navigation software market. The only thing AmiGO needs right now is to grow bigger, especially in smaller countries where its userbase isn’t as large as Waze’s.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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