Putting itsJune acquisitionof the popular social mapping and location startup Waze to good use, the Internet giant Google today announced that crowd-sourced incident reports from Wazers will be soon available through the Google Maps mobile apps for iOS and Android.
This means when Wazers report accidents, construction, road closures and more on Waze, their updates will also appear in real-time on the Google Maps mobile apps in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, UK and the US…
“Not only will we continue to outsmart traffic and keep citizens updated via the Waze app and broadcast partners, but Waze real time incident reports will appear on the Google Maps for Android, iPad and iPhone,”the Waze team wrote in ablog post.
Incident reports within Google Maps will not include Wazer profile information, but contributors will still earn points on the Waze side.
And writing on itsLat Long blog, the Google Maps team wrote that the updated Waze Map Editor (below) is now available with support for Google Street View and satellite imagery, making it easy for Wazers to report map errors.
The company has also updated the free Waze app foriOSandAndroidwith built-in Google Search, which joins a host of other search providers featured on Waze, such as Foursquare and Yelp.
Previously, Google started monetizing users byinjecting relevant advertisinginto Google Maps search results across mobile platforms.
Moreover, the search monster haskilled the Google+ Local iOS appand posted anew Google Maps SDKwhich lets third-party iOS developers implement Street View and Indoor Maps in their warez.
Though Apple wasspeculatedto have been interested in Waze, the dealnever went throughas Googlesnatched the startupout from under Apple in a surprising move.
Since that hiccup, Apple has moved to snap up public transit and navigation data providerHopStopand location-based data startupLocationary.
In addition, the iPhone maker recently advertised a number ofMaps-related positionson its website. Eagled-eyed readers could also note Apple is set to release astandalone Maps Mac appas part of its upcoming Fall release of OS X Mavericks.
You can download Google Maps free from Apple’sApp Storeor Google’sPlay store.
