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Waze and means: Helping test drive Waze means a free Whiffies pie for you

While iPhone and Android app Waze isn’t Portland based, having Di-Ann working there does give us a Portland tie. And now there’s another opportunity to put Portland on the Waze map literally.

Rick Turoczy on August 10, 2009

When it comes to geogeeking here in Portland, most everyone knows about Platial, one of the original social mapping efforts that was founded right here in the Silicon Forest. But what you may not know is that Platial’s cofounder and chair, Di-Ann Eisnor, is hard at work with another geolocation company called Waze.

While Waze isn’t Portland-based, having Di-Ann working there does give us a Portland tie. And now, there’s another opportunity to put Portland on the Waze map—literally. Di-Ann is inviting you to give Waze a test drive and provide feedback on the mobile. And the reward for your hard work? A free pie from the Whiffies food cart for participating drivers. Now, what could be more Portland-y than that?

What is Waze? I’m glad you asked.

Waze is a social mobile application providing free turn-by-turn navigation based on the live conditions of the road. 100% powered by users, the more you drive, the better it gets.

What’s more, Waze gives you points for driving heretofore undriven routes with Pac-Man-esque dots. Drive down those roads and rack up the points.

I’m sorry. Are you still salivating over the thought of a free Whiffies pie? Well, let me give you the details, then.

To get a pie, you need to download the Waze Android app or the (NOTE: iTunes link) Waze iPhone app. Don’t have an Android phone or an iPhone? Find someone with a car and team up. Don’t have a car? I bet you can find someone to drive you around. I mean, who doesn’t want to drive to Whiffies?

Okay, now that you’ve got the basics and the app, here’s what you do.

  1. On your mark: The test driving starts at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, August 11
  2. Get set: Enter “1412 Se 12th ave, Portland” as your destination in your respective Waze app
  3. Go: Start chomping points, sending tweets, and filing road reports on your way to Whiffies

Waze giving you the wrong route? Drive there the right way. Waze will learn from your astute sense of direction. You’ve got 30 minutes to get there. At 7:30 PM, they’ll begin taking feedback and at 8 PM, they’ll begin doling out the free pies.

No word on whether anyone is going for Waze piechamp or not.

Sound like fun? Well, just RSVP for the Waze test drive so that Whiffies and Waze will have an idea of how many folks to expect on Tuesday evening.

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Published by Rick Turoczy

More than mildly obsessed with the Portland startup community. Founder and editor at Silicon Florist. Cofounder and general manager at PIE. Follow me on Twitter: @turoczy

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  4. Romansky September 8, 2009 at 3:47 am

    Too bad they are keeping the map data to them selves.
    And might decide one day to charge you money for using it!

    Enjoy while you are permitted 😉

  5. Will August 11, 2009 at 4:21 pm

    Wow, a contest predicated on non-stop texting while driving sounds really smart.

  6. Tricia August 11, 2009 at 9:31 am

    This sounds like a blast. Although I love Whiffies, I will be going to yoga instead to prepare for the Pie-Off (yes, mentally *and* physically!).

    Waze sounds really cool – I’m downloading it anyway!

  7. Jmartens August 11, 2009 at 9:27 am

    I meant “no BB app”.

  8. Jmartens August 11, 2009 at 9:26 am

    I’m with Gary, what gives on now BB app? In the second quarter of 2009, 4 of the top 6 smartphones based on sales were Blackberry’s. The number 1 selling phone the last 2 quarters was a Blackberry. Blackberry puts almost no restrictions on apps and you can distribute any way you’d like. Oh ya, they are Java too….no proprietary crap.

    Hope all the iPhone fanboys have fun….wish I could participate.

  9. jer@nyquil.org August 11, 2009 at 7:13 am

    @Don Park:

    You could technically use Waze for bicycling, but they use the current speed of your mobile as an effector to determine what the traffic congestion is like. As long as you’re cycling at least as fast as the cars around you, out ought to be fine. Also, make sure you stick to actual roads that cars can drive upon; actual paths are aggregated and used to automatically update the road data. Cutting through parks and alleys could, in theory anyway, break routing for car users.

  10. Don Park August 10, 2009 at 3:21 pm

    yea for the android app! Can I use it for bicycling?

  11. Gary Walter August 10, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    Too bad no Blackberry app. I noticed at a recent Mobile Portland talk there was some curiosity as to why people aren’t developing bbPhone apps. I know, the iPhone is cool – the aPhone is an up-and-comer, but the bbPhone still has a lot of market share – right?

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