A !waytag which can be created via the !Waytag application or online (www.waytag.com) allows for a unique approach to sharing location in the digital age. Instead of providing GPS coordinates or a street address of your location, one can create these distinctive location tags, distinguishable by the ! at the start of the tag (similar to how a # works for Twitter topics). This !waytag is based upon GPS coordinates but much easier to share, making them ideal for use even within areas where there are no street names. 

!waytags can also be used when a quick pinpoint location is needed, for example informing friends of your position on a night out.  

So, if you want to meet a friend for drinks at a nearby restaurant you do not have to send them a message containing the address or GPS coordinates for the rendezvous point, but merely create a !waytag, for example !RestaurantName and share it with your friend.

Simply create and share

The !Waytag application will utilise your GPS position to create the tag so users do not have to enter any address info or coordinates themselves. Currently the app is only available to users that have either an iOS-powered or Android-running device, and can be downloaded for free from Google Play and the App Store. Shared !waytags open within Google Maps on Android devices and Apple’s Map application on iOS 6-running devices. A BlackBerry version of the application is also on the way.

!Waytags can also be shared with people who do not use an iPhone or Android-operating mobile device, via an SMS, email, Twitter or Facebook. When someone clicks on the shared !waytag they will be taken into their device’s onboard mapping and navigation software for navigation to their destination. Users do not have to be concerned over privacy as they create, name, update, as well as manage the !waytags themselves and get to choose with whom these tags are shared with.   

!Waytag tech based upon TomTom Maps

The Waytag application was developed using the TomTom LBS application programming interface (API), meaning that users can expect detailed maps, routing info as well as search capabilities.

“We needed a global mapping solution that would be accurate and reliable so that Waytag users could position themselves with confidence, especially in areas where street addressing is inadequate,” explained Warren Venter the CEO and cofounder of Waytag.

Danny Grobben, general manager of TomTom Africa added: “Waytags will revolutionise the way we will share our addresses or locations in the future.”

 

 

In other mapping and location related news, Nokia recently introduced HERE, the Finnish firm’s new mapping and location-based service for multiple screens and mobile operating systems (OSs) including iOS and Android devices.