Commuters: What gadget can't you live without?
(MoneyWatch) What's your favorite gadget for passing the time on your commute? Here's what a couple randomly selected daily commuters have to say.
"I have to drive from North Austin to downtown every morning on I-35, which is one of the worst freeways in terms of traffic. I really like Inrix. It gives me several different routes to take based on the traffic congestion and is easy to use." --Shermayne Crawford, senior publicist at Bounce, a public relations firm in Austin, Texas
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"By far the best thing that I've used for commuting is the app called Waze. Waze leverages all of the existing traffic information that's out there (Google and otherwise), but then adds a layer of crowdsourced info to make it as accurate as possible. Users report everything from where there's traffic, to where police are located, where accidents are, even the current price of gas at stations all over the place!" --Greg Horn, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco online fundraising startup Gigawatt
"My favorite gadget is a 3G Kindle. My work takes me all over Boston and Cambridge, and the [Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority] has wifi on the commuter rail service and signal repeaters down in the T now; I get 5/5 bars no matter where I am. I can review documents and check email on the way out, and relax with a book on the way back. The battery lasts for hours and hours, even if I'm on 3G the entire way." --Arabella Flynn, editor and consultant, Boston
"My commute is two to two-and-a-half hours from Wilmington, N.C., to Raleigh-Durham. I love that I can talk to my [Samsung] Galaxy and ask her to accomplish a task so I don't take my eyes off the road. But mostly I love my Audible! I'd die without it." --Ann Revell-Pechar, A.Revell Communications, Wilmington, N.C.
The Easy Mile Log GPS Car Mile Logger "is my most valuable gadget in the car, besides my smartphone. Most working Americans can take a tax deduction for miles driven. However, the IRS requires a log. I used to keep a written log, but I would forget to make entries. This one does everything automatically, better than an app." --Ross Kelson, blogger, Miami
"My favorite gadget is my iPhone -- specifically, the Umano app. I love it because it reads the news to me. This saves me the hassle of downloading podcasts, or trying to read stories visually, or sitting through commercial breaks on the radio." --Sid Savara, technical manager, Honolulu
"I own an Android and an iPhone, so I bought a 12000 mAh battery pack with dual USB outputs. I can charge both my phones at once and it is a life saver. I don't go anywhere without it, or my phone dies after five hours." --Albert Ko, co-founder of laptop recommendation site DealGuppy.com, San Francisco
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user JoeJoeJoe93
