Apologies in advance for the background noise in this video -- it was loud as heck at ShowStoppers at CES 2010 -- but it's worth working through the sound pain so you can hear what Root Wireless is all about. With coverage maps all the rage in carrier commercials these days, Root Wireless is on a mission to make these maps more than lip service, by creating them off from real world user data. How do they do that? By letting users install a small Root Wireless app onto their location-aware device which runs in the background, collecting data on carrier signal strength and network data speed, and reports it back every so often to Root Wireless who compiles the info into useful data for consumers and other stakeholders (I think carriers themselves are pretty interested in what Root Wireless is up to as it can help them identify and fill in network gaps).
Be sure to watch the video above and check out rootwireless.com for more info. The service is still in beta phase, but you can register up to become a beta tester. They're looking for smartphone enthusiasts to get this app loaded and put it to good use, so let's help them out. The more users running this on their phones, the better the service will be! Cool stuff, huh?