(Telecompaper) Google has confirmed on its official blog that it closed the acquisition of community-based traffic and navigation app company Waze, without disclosing a purchase price. Earlier reports had placed the transaction at USD 1.1 billion to USD 1.3 billion. Google's vice president for geographic systems, Brian McClendon, writes that Waze's product development team will remain in Israel and operate separately for now. Google will use the company's technology to enhance Google Maps with traffic update features to help drivers "outsmart traffic". It will work closely with the Waze community, described as "the DNA of this app".