Startup Monday: Waze

The San Francisco Bay Area is truly a beautiful place. Every year thousands of tourists, visitors, and newcomers flock to our beloved city. Unfortunately this leads to more congestion and even more traffic. San Francisco was actually just rated one of the top 3 cities with the worst traffic. Thankfully there’s an app that can help with this problem. If you haven’t already heard of Waze, it helps users share real-time traffic and road information.

Imagine all the millions of drivers around the Bay Area, working together to outsmart traffic and finding the best routes. Waze not only gives turn-by-turn voice directions, but also helps in alerting drivers about potential obstacles on their routes. It learns the favorable routes drivers take and can even locate nearby gas stations.

Waze has also successfully integrated social features. Users earn points every time they contribute road information. These points help solidify their position in the Waze community (such as “Waze Baby” to “Waze Royalty”). This app also uses a live drive-time integration. Users can even see live updates of their friends’ position on the map as they move.

Waze is easy to use and the additional features, such as voice navigation and the ability to see others live time really puts this above other apps.

What do you think about this app? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter!

Tech Tuesday: Handleband

Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming companies for their innovative ideas and ability to think outside the box!

If you love to bike and are looking for a way to take your ride to the next level, look no further! Our favorite new gadget is the Handleband, a universal bike mount that uses your phone as a navigational tool, ride-tracker, camera, and light. Plus, it has a bottle opener!

You probably use your phone to listen to music during your bike to work or while getting some exercise, but the Handleband harnesses our phones’ full potential. Because it’s made from high-strength silicone and 7075 Aluminum spline, the Handleband is both strong and flexible. It wraps once around a bike’s handlebars, then again around a smartphone to create a secure connection. Its flexibility means this gadget can work with any phone, bike, and case!

The Handleband is unique because it’s smaller than a deck of cards, yet durable enough for any mountain trail. You can remove the devise at any time or reinforce it with a zip tie for extra security. The best feature of the Handleband’s design is that it doesn’t cover your phone in any inconvenient way. You have full use of your phone camera and screen should you need access to it. This is how your phone becomes your light source, ride tracker, music player, light source, and anything else you could need while biking!

The Handleband has received full funding from its Kickstarter page and continues to grow. What’s next for Handleband? We think there should be a Handleband app for phones that helps the rider get even more out of his or her phone. We’ll just have to wait and see!

Would you use the Handleband? Do you think this gadget has potential? Share your thoughts in a comment or on Facebook and Twitter!