REVIEW: AT&T Navigator By Telenav GPS (and how it compares to Gokivo)

[Tunnelrunner]

I'm not going to go into great detail since I think this app is pretty much the equal of it's worthy competitor, Gokivo by Networks in Motion (NIM - the same company that powers the VZ Navigator) -- the *other* monthly streaming GPS app -- which I also did a recent review of:

REVIEW: Gokivo (powered by yahoo!) GPS App for OS 3.0 - Mac Forums

The basic features of both apps are essentially the same (although ATTN seems to have a more robust POI/database). What I said about Gokivo, basically also holds true for ATTN. Both require a $10 monthly fee. Both stream real-time maps/data/traffic OTA. Both apps feature *text to speech* ("text to speech" = the ability to speak the names of streets/highways, etc. -- TomTom will not have this feature...at least not initially). I haven't had any problems running either one in 3G or Edge. Neither can do landscape mode (personally, I think landscape is a *little* overrated so I don't care, but I know this might bother others). Let me preface this by saying: I think they're both awesome. Of course, I tend to favor the monthly mobile phone GPS subscription model and the two giants in this area have always been Telenav and NIM; sort of the "Garmin" and "TomTom" of the mobile phone GPS field. Telenav is the well-known GPS power-horse for the Sprint and AT&T Navigators and NIM is (I thought one of the posters here had mentioned) the most successful mobile GPS service in North America, powering the VZ Navigator, AAA's GPS service, etc.

So I'll focus on the few differences I've seen between the 2 apps:

-ATTN has a prettier layout; nicer-looking, cleaner graphics, though there's nothing wrong with Gokivo's appearance either (purely cosmetic point here).

-The speaking voice for ATTN is definitely louder than Gokivo's but I find Gokivo's voice to be *clearer* and sharper. The ATTN voice does sound (especially at high volume settings) "muffled" and can make understanding 1-syllable streets a chore at times. :Sigh...I wish ATTN's voice was clearer and I wish Gokivo's voice was LOUDER.

-Entering an address on ATTN is easy enough...but it's not integrated with the contacts app on the iphone. I'm rather surprised and a little disappointed that in all this time Telenav had to develop the app, they didn't think to integrate their app with the contacts in the iphone? Gokivo, of course, *does* feature contacts integration. This should be a requirement for any GPS app that appears on the iphone. (From my understanding, both Navigon and TomTom will feature contacts integration...I have no idea whether G-Map will or will not). Telenav has a constant update/data stream...they need to fix this ASAP.

-Gokivo features ipod/music library integration and ATTN apparently does not (I haven't tested this yet...only going off of initial reports by other users).

-ATTN seems to lock on and get a GPS signal a little bit faster than Gokivo.

-When you go off-route, Gokivo seems to recalculate faster than ATTN. Gokivo: ~1-2 seconds, Telenav: ~8-10 seconds.

-Both apps calculate smart, efficient routes. In fact, in all the test routes I ran, they basically gave me the same map summary.

-Gokivo features a pay-as-you-go 30-day subscription with no obligation to renew/no-strings attached. In other words, it doesn't automatically renew your monthly subscription - it leaves it up to you to decide whether or not you want to continue paying. I rather like that model. By contrast, ATTN automatically renews your monthly subscription unless you either call them or go to their website and cancel - which is not difficult to do but it's still not as convenient as Gokivo/NIM's billing model.

That's basically it. It's the age-old question of "Sprint Nav by Telenav or VZ Navigator?" Comparing ATTN to Gokivo is like comparing Coke to Pepsi. I give 'em both 4.5/5 stars (for what they do, all things considered). At this time, I have to call it a draw. As I spend more time with both apps, I might start to lean towards one side but for now, it's too close to call to say one is better than the other since the services are so similar and comparable.

BOTTOM LINE: If you're okay with paying $10 a month and want constantly updated maps/data/traffic in real-time, BOTH Gokivo by NIM and AT&T Navigator by Telenav are excellent GPS options. You can't go wrong with either one. The great thing about competition is that it's going to spur both apps to try and top the other.

[Tunnelrunner]

ADDENDUM:I just tested the iPod integration for the ATTN--it works. You CAN play music while navigating and just like Gokivo, the music dims while the voice speaks.

[sleeks]

Thanks for the reviews Tunnelrunner.

Any update from Tom Tom, Navigon or Xroad (GMAP) on when they will be ready. Supposedly, Xroad was ready to release, and with the speed of the app approval process, maybe they have already.

[cobra302]

good review, didnt know about ipod functionality working here either. i wish that you could take a call, then go back to the app as well. but i guess thats the drawback to the multitasking.

[Tunnelrunner]

@sleeks,

Your guess is as good as
mine re: TomTom. Probably anytime before August (hopefully?). They're sure taking their sweet time (it better be one hell of a nav-app!). Re: Navigon (for North America), they had initially promised end of June--which seemed to make sense since the European app just launched last week. If they hold true to their word, Navigon's North American app should be here anytime this week since July is next week (so any day now?). Re: XRoad's G-Map, their rep, Sean, said that the 3.0 version would launch "within a week hopefully before Navigon." That was sent on June 15th...so there might be some slight delay. I actually thought G-Map would launch this week. We'll have to see.

@Cobra,

If you're running the app on Edge, the incoming call gets redirected straight to VM if I understand correctly. Running on 3G, both apps stop running until you either decline the call or take it and hang-up -- at which point both apps automatically relaunch, which is nice. ATTN even relaunches the same route without prompting. Gokivo asks you if you want to resume the same route before relaunching.

[Tunnelrunner]

I stand corrected; I was just running ATTN on Edge and got an incoming phone call which did indeed stop the app. I took the call and as soon as I finished talking and hung up, ATTN relaunched and continued my route without prompting.

[cobra302]

Oh really? It relaunched? Now that's good to hear!!

[Tunnelrunner]

@Cobra

Yes, and fairly quickly.

@Sleeks

Some more info on TomTom's mount and map purchasing plan:

More Details on TomTom for iPhone: Mount Has its Own GPS Chip

[sleeks]

Originally Posted by Tunnelrunner

@Cobra

Yes, and fairly quickly.

@Sleeks

Some more info on TomTom's mount and map purchasing plan:

More Details on TomTom for iPhone: Mount Has its Own GPS Chip

Thanks for the link.....looks like Tom Tom will be a strong app, but I'm guessing the mount alone will cost upwards of $50. Come on Tom Tom, lets get this thing released already.

GPS Chip, Microphone, Speaker, Aux Out jack, and ability to charge.

I just hope the app will use the speaker for the voice directions if you have the aux jack hooked up. For instance, if I am listening to Sat radio and don't have the radio input on the aux input from the iphone, I'm hoping the voice directions will come through the speaker and not just through the aux input (since I won't hear them unless the aux input is selected).

[Tunnelrunner]

It *should* allow you to do that but if worst comes to worst, you can just use a standard car charger and window/dash mount (if you just want to play the GPS through the iPhone speaker while sultaneously playing the car radio through the car speakers) which is what I do right now with Telenav when I *don't* want the speaking voice done via aux input.