One thing that was unclear earlier this year (I never received answers to my queries from the company) related the business model. Now the company shares it:

Eisnor said that the goal is to get the app in enough people's hands that there is a steady flow of new road data to add to the Waze database. Then, she said, the company plans to license that raw data to other companies to do with as they please and, in the process, grab as much of what it thinks is a $4 billion market as it can. But to users, such goals may well be unimportant, so long as they can continue to get the very latest information about what's ahead of them as they drive.

Waze uses TIGER data as its base in the U.S. The app seems fun and quirky and the biggest downside for one use was poor local AT&T service. We'll just have to see if this blend of mobile/social/navigation can build a good map and bring in funds. That said, I suspect other revenue generators are in the works, too, including other uses for "points" gained in collecting data.

The waze FAQ is here.

- C|net