Waze launches new holiday contest, language feature, and Foursquare support

I’ve always been impressed by the way that Waze has turned its GPS app into a game. They’ve held several contests and games designed to encourage people to drive around and gather road data, strengthening the driver-sourced maps along the way. Today, Waze added another game for the holiday season, along with support for new languages and integration with FourSquare.

The Waze “Treasure Hunt Contest” incorporates the app’s “road goodies,” which are icons that can earn drivers bonus points in the rewards/ranking program that Waze uses as an incentive to map building. For the holiday edition, winter-themed goodies like snowflakes, candy canes, and gift boxes will spread over maps. If a user notices one of these goodies on his her map, that person will have the option to drive towards it and send data to Waze that improves service in that area. That person will also be rewarded for his/her troubles when driving over treasure chests that can be Waze account bonus points or redeemable unnamed prizes. (More information available at the Waze blog)

Waze also enhances the social gaming factor by integrating with Foursquare. Android users can now “check in” to locations with Foursquare through Waze, which can lead to improved standings and a Waze “Road Warrior” Badge in Foursquare (lost? click here).

Most important of all, the app has translation and language support for more languages. Spanish or Italian-speaking readers will be happy to know that they can now operate Waze and hear turn-by-turn directions in their native tongue. True to Waze’s community-driven approach to map building, the language support is actually the result of users organizing and helping the team translate the app into that language. Waze has a Wiki set-up to encourage translation of any language in their “Operation: Translation” program. Bosnian, Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, and Russian are in the pipeline, but anyone willing to contribute can start a new language project.

Who wants to take bets on how long it will take for a group of people to try to start a Klingon translation?

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Google Goggles: visual search and augmented reality app for Android

Google has made two announcements today that will add on to it’s already extensive presence in mobile search. Android users can now “Search by Sight” with Google Goggles, a visual search option for Android. Simply snap a photo of a book, landmark, business card, barcode, or artwork, and the app will return Google search results for that item. Google Goggles even includes an augmented reality element for local businesses. When the app is launched facing a business front, GPS and compass technology helps reveal a store name. Tap the name to see more.

UPDATE: THIS APP WORKS ONLY ON ANDROID 1.6 OR HIGHER, SO HERO AND OTHER CUPCAKE PHONES CANNOT USE IT.

Google Goggles is an app that performs Google queries based on images rather than entered text. It will not always perform well on cars, animals, plants, or appeal, but it’s a strong entrance. I’m surprised that this is available because just yesterday I was responding to someone wondering if there was an Android app that could provide a tour guide to an area or contextual information about items in an art gallery. Less than 24 hours later, here’s Google adding yet another layer to its search portfolio.

Google also announced “What’s Nearby” for Google Maps on Android 1.6 or higher. Update the Maps app in the Android Market and you will be able to take advantage of the new feature.

To use the feature just long press anywhere on the map, and we’ll return a list of the 10 closest places, including restaurants, shops and other points of interest. It’s a simple answer to a simple question, finally. (And if you visit google.com from your iPhone or Android device in a few weeks, clicking “Near me now” will deliver the same experience [video].)

Of course our future plans include more than just nearby places. In the new year we’ll begin showing local product inventory in search results [video]; and Google Suggest will even include location-specific search terms [video]. All thanks to powerful, Internet-enabled mobile devices.

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