I tried to outsmart Gokivo. Twice I attempted to fry it’s artificial brain. Following is a turn for turn account of my battle with Gokivo, the travel directions navigation app.

My first use for this app was a setup. I was driving to a concert five miles from my house that only needed one turn to easily get there. As this was my first use of the app I let the auto settings be, and started my engine. Gokivo wanted to take me on the freeway. This may have taken me to my destination faster, but I’m leery as the freeways it prefered I use are usually backed up (as is the California Highway – um, way)

I was expecting to hear the Gokivo voice pester me that I missed my turn (to get on the freeway), but was astonished when I heard nothing. What if this hadn’t been on purpose? What if my kids were screaming in the back of the jalopy and I couldn’t give the iPhone the fatherly attention it needed. What then? I would have driven on my way without knowing it was the WRONG way.

Before I could rant much longer, Gokivo corrected itself without uttering a thing. I’m still not sure how I feel about this. Maybe it’s the servant way to take the assumed error as its own and not mention it to master.

One thing to note… I found the GPS to be a bit funny sometimes. Twice (once for each test), Gokivo thought I was one street over. This was particularly funny as I was going through a tunnel which doesn’t haver service. Gokivo thought I was on the top of the mountain on Fish Ranch Road sitting pretty decrying its suggestion to turn around and enter the tunnel. Once I got out, it realized the mistake and corrected itself. Thank iPod for intelligence!

So, in both of my attempts I found similar things I like and dislike about Gokivo.

On Track

• You can play music while Gokivo works for you
• The general service provided
• A breakdown of your directions that you may peruse before, during, or after your trip.

Off its Rocker

• The random GPS errors
• Not commenting as soon as I make a wrong turn

Ultimatum

I found this app to be pretty good functionally. Not the best service like this though. But WAIT! It’s only $10 compared to $100 for its competitors. That’s a great deal and in my book is well worth a few bugs. So what if I can’t be inept while driving. To save $90 I will happily spend a few minutes before a trip to look over my map and let Gokivo remind me when a turn is coming up. You’d be crazy not to get this for the price, unless you require perfection from your electronic equipment or have the budget to spend $100 on a navigator. Even then, don’t you have one in your fancy car Mr. Fancy Pants. For all the regular panted individuals out there. Welcome to the big leagues, you now have a dashboard navigator in your pocket!

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Gokivo is a turn-by-turn navigation application for iPhone users that offers real-time visual and voice-prompted directions for travel by foot or car. Some of the application’s key features include:

• Real time traffic alerts regarding incidents and delays along your route
• Deep integration with the iPod, allowing users to listen to music while also receiving voice-prompts
• Easy navigation to any contact in your address book
• More than 1 million miles of traffic flow information
• Improved GPS tracking for precision and accuracy