Review: The Davao Life mobile app

The Davao Life mobile app (available for Android) has the distinction of being the first mobile tourism app owned by a local government unit (LGU) in the Philippines. This free app was commissioned by SMART communications and the Davao City government, and was officially launched last Aug. 10 —just in time for the Kadayawan festivities the following week.

 

As the height of the Kadayawan festivities drew near, we had hoped that there would be updates to make the app more in sync with the major events for the week —notwithstanding that fact that the developers insisted that the app was complete as is. 

 

But now that the Kadayawan festivities have drawn to a close, we are now able to say that we tested the app to its limits.

 

No sharing, map options

 

The first flaw we discovered in the design of this app is that it doesn’t have any sharing options for the events. If I were a tourist, I’d want to share on my FB or Twitter that I was at the Indak-indakan or at the Mutyang Kadayawan. Or at the very least, I’d want to be able to email the events that I want to go to with my friends so we can plan our itinerary. But it simply wasn’t possible. We couldn’t share anything before, during, and after Kadayawan.  

 

Another thing we found lacking in this app is the fact that it’s not linked to Google Maps. If I’m a tourist, I’d want to know where I’m going. Even with the reputation of Davao taxi drivers of being knowledgeable of the ins and out of the city, it would be reassuring to know exactly where you are. 

 

And if you’re the type of tourist who wants to immerse yourself in the culture and you want to take public transport, the map could have been really useful. It also would have been nice if the app also had a route map or route list of the different jeepneys in the city.

 

Incomplete info

 

The Davao City Information office is responsible for updating the content on the app, and we were hoping that the information would be complete in time for Kadayawan. Even without the maps or the sharing options, the app could still be useful if it proved to be a complete directory of Davao City establishments. 

 

Unfortunately, even after Kadayawan, the directory wasn’t complete. Some of the more popular tourist destinations weren’t listed (like D’Bone Museum) or their information wasn’t complete (Malagos Garden Resort). There were redundancies and errors on the directory that was just embarrassing. Tourists would be better off getting their information from the tourist websites and their friends.

 

If the developers can’t do more updates, I wish the City Information Office would step up and complete this directory. 

 

Benchmark for LGUs

 

The Davao Life app is a nice, simple, and pretty much straightforward —but it does have its flaws.  Addressing these issues in future versions would make the app a very good benchmark for other LGUs.

 

This has the potential of becoming a really useful app that any local and tourist can use all year round. If it only contained a complete directory, I’d use it myself and I wouldn’t hesitate recommending this app to any tourist. But until then, you’re better off using something else. — TJD, GMA News