Analysts disagree about Google's takeover of Waze - Computer Sweden

On Tuesday confirmed Google that the company buys the Israeli map service Waze. Google has not disclosed the financial details of the deal, but according to Bloomberg, is the purchase price of between 1.1 and 1.3 billion.

Class=”paragraphIntro”> Wall Street Journal reported just over a month then that even Facebook was interested in buying the map service. Facebook will be later be withdrawn from the bidding.

Waze is a app for iOS and Android that offers users to share traffic information between each other in real time. This allows users to warn each other about traffic jams, accidents and speed traps.

The independent analyst Jeff Kagan believes that it was a smart move by Google to buy up Waze.

– Google may be the leader in navigation today, but it also means that the company will have to work twice as hard to maintain their position. Waze is a new and original idea that offers new and innovative features in navigation, said Jeff Kagan.

All analysts agree but not with Patrick Moorhead, an analyst Moor Insights & Strategy believe it was money wasted by Google.

– I think this was a huge waste of money and I am surprised that investors were not asked more questions. This will not give Google any major new features. It gives Google a social element in terms of maps, but it is also something that the company could have built on their own, says Patrick Moorhead.

According to him, bought Google up Waze so that the service does not end up in the hands of Facebook or Apple.

– It’s bizarre that Google paid so much for so little. Millions of people use Google Maps every day and the company could simply added this functionality itself, says Patrick Moorhead.

Dan Olds at analyst Gabriel Consulting Group is more positive to the store because it gives Google a platform for the travel apps.

– Waze is a highly social app with over 50 million users. Google does not need more users, but the company needs users that interact between each other. It’s something Google can monetize. With Google’s deep pockets, it’s easier to buy an existing service than to build one from scratch, said Dan Olds.

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