Waze

Website: waze.com.

For: Apple iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8 devices.

Cost: Free.

Best for: The clever commuter.

The gist: This community-based app relies on users to provide info on traffic jams, accidents, and more. You automatically contribute data, such as the average speed on a given road, just by driving.

Nice surprise: Waze learns your preferred routes to repeated destinations and guides you using those routes instead of its own.

Biggest minus: The audio sounds like a voice from a 1980s answering machine.