Visiting New York and wondering whether a crosstown cab is any faster than the subway? Mobile|Traffic, a free web service for mobile phones (and standard browsers as well) offers updates from more than 4,600 traffic cameras in seven countries, including the U.S., U.K., and Australia. Simply navigate from country to state/province to city, and you'll get a recent shot of the intersection. Using Mobile|Traffic from a phone requires a data plan, as you'd imagine, and, as MakeUseOf points out, it's in serious need of map and search functions. But it's simple, free, and pretty useful if you don't always trust vague traffic reports of "moving steadily" and the like.

Tags: commute | driving | mobile | mobile apps | traffic