(gigaom.com) -- Acquisition talks between Facebook and crowd-sourced mapping data company Waze may have derailed, but technical ties between the two companies’ services is chugging along. On Thursday Waze plans to release an update to its navigation apps for iOS and Android that includes integration with Facebook Events.
The intention of this new integration is to allow people attending the same event to coordinate travel — via roads, naturally — a lot more easily. Here’s how it will work: Waze users who are logged in with their Facebook account will automatically see Facebook events they are RSVP’d for in their Navigation menu (pictured at left). Waze is pitching this as ultra-convenient so you don’t have to hunt around for the location of the event; simply click the event and it’ll guide you with driving directions with one tap of the screen.
The second aspect to the Facebook Events feature is knowing who’s going to the event and even when they will arrive — which seems cool and also creepy at the same time. (You can turn this off if you want.) Waze users can see the ETA of other Facebook friends RSVP’d to the same event. Sounds nice if you want to make sure you know someone at an event, or even to avoid having to run into a certain person.
The app update also includes a redesign for the pop-ups users get for road alerts (traffic, hazards, cops, etc.) and for local deals that the company says will take up less space on a phone’s display.
The company said it currently has 49 million users of its free app, up from 40 million in late February.
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