The most compelling feature of Gokivo GPS Navigator is its innovative pricing system. Instead of a big fee or monthly subscription cost, Gokivo GPS Navigator charges $9.99 for 30 days of use. If you like what you see, you can add another 30 days of service from within the app. If you don’t, let the service run out and get on with your life.
Sadly, I’ll be getting on with my life. I won’t renew my service because the app wasn’t reliable during my tests. Chief among my complaints is the fact that I could wait for as long as 15 minutes for the app to lock onto a GPS signal. That’s outrageous.
The Gokivo app is among a number of iPhone apps developed to work like a dashboard-mounted GPS device for a car. Other approaches include the $100 TomTom U.S. & Canada service and AT&T Navigator, which also charges a monthly fee.
When the Gokivo app does manage to load a route, the positioning is off. I want a GPS app to tell me where I am right now—not where I was 30 seconds ago. Gokivo GPS Navigator routinely displayed my position about a block or two behind where it actually was.
I also have an issue with the app’s tinny and garbled voice. When “turn left in point two miles” sounds like “turn left in forty two miles,” you know something is wrong. So much for hands-free directions. Also, what’s with the 0.2 miles thing? If my left turn is imminent, why can’t I get that information in feet or yards?
Some day, someone will nail a GPS driving app for the iPhone. Maybe that app will be Gokivo GPS Navigator. If Gokivo’s developers can improve the performance of the app I installed, I’ll be delighted to sign up for another 30 days of use. Until then, I’ll get my directions the old fashioned way—with the iPhone’s Maps app.
