I’ve entered a phase I think of as “app fatigue.” I now use my smart phone mainly as, well, a phone. Sure, I take advantage of the handy tools like messaging, maps, Internet, weather, music, and LinkedIn, but I can’t recall the last time I crawled around iTunes looking for some new time-saving or world-changing app for my iPhone. I’m just not interested. Fatigue has set in.

My one exception: a new traffic app recommended by a work colleague. After a particularly hard day of winter driving and barely contained road rage, I finally downloaded Waze, and my life was markedly changed for the better.

I love the Waze logos!

If you haven’t met Waze yet, I guarantee that you’re destined to become best friends. Waze bills itself as “the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app.” In my regular commute from Denver to Boulder and back, I can hardly do without it.

I heart Waze for several reasons:

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