Price Comparison: Harman Kardon GPS-500 Widescreen Pocket GPS Navigator- MP3 Player- and Video Player with Maps for North America

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Harman Kardon GPS-500 Widescreen Pocket GPS Navigator- MP3 Player- and Video Player with Maps for North America

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On Sale Today!
02nd of December 2008





portable GPS satellite navigation unit with fitted antenna will include car and home power adapters, USB cable, carrying case, and rechargeable battery with up to four hours of life 4" color 480 x 272 pixels touchscreen control three million points of interest SD card slot supports up to 4GB

Review:
Creating a device that does more than one or two things well proved elusive for device manufacturers. So called "convergence" devices devices that supply multimedia, communication, and navigation functions, for instance are just beginning to mature into merchandise worth purchasing. One such product is the Harman Kardon GPS 500, which pulls an admirable hat trick by combining above average music and video playback with a top notch GPS navigation experience.

Granted, you do not get some top counter features like Bluetooth integration, text to speech address announcements, or wireless traffic reports, but Harman Kardon has wisely stuck with basics and polished them into an experience that, separately from some software problems we encountered on our pre production model, does not fail to disappoint.

This personal travel helper has a super bright, sunlight readable, 4 inch widescreen with greatly correct 2D and 3D navigation potential. See more pictures: back right side left side

Turn by turn directions and navigation prompts appear as needed, throughout music playback.

Enjoy your beloved music in your car or on the sofa. The unit supports MP3, AAC, and WMA audio formats.

The SD card slot supports up to 4GB, enough room for hours of video.

Design
The GPS 500 is solidly built something we expect from Harman Kardon and it instills a sense of confidence that it can survive the bumps of bruises that come with the mobile lifestyle. Measuring roughly 4.5 inches large by 3.5 inches high, and a little over half an inch thick, the device is only a little chunkier than your average PDA or Smartphone. The clean lines of the GPS 500 are improved by a complete lack of buttons, all interaction with the device happens between the touchscreen and your finger. In the interest of simplicity, there isn't a stylus that can fall to the floor and roll under the seat of your car.

The only button you will find on the device is the recessed power button on the top, right beside the SD card slot. The slot accepts cards with up to four GB of capacity. there is also a small jog wheel on the right side for volume and display light control. Below this dial you will also find a mini USB port that serves double responsibility for both charging and PC to device data transfers, also as a regular 3.5 millimeter headset jack. In the meantime, you will find a pinhole reset button on the bottom, also as a hold switch on the left side for deactivating the touchscreen. Lastly, the back of the unit sports a small audio speaker and a port for an optional GPS signal booster antenna.

Setup and Interface
Setup is as easy as turning the device on, since it comes loaded with maps of the U.S. and Canada. On 1st bootup, decide from English, Spanish, or French language alternatives for the spoken directions and interface menus.

Interacting with the GPS 500's touchscreen is delightfully intuitive and reliable, there is really no need for a stylus or navigation buttons, which simplifies things on the road. The division of the major interface into four major quadrants is a useful touch, and it is refreshing to see manufacturers moving away from uncomfortable icon based menus. Instead of drilling down through lists of icons, all of the GPS 500's alternatives are presented on simple, color coded shapes. That said, we were a little puzzled by the use of the "Source" menu key, which takes the user back to the major menu from any point in the interface. it is a useful feature, but why not call this the "Home" button instead?

The screen itself is sharp and clear, offering great resolution and clearness in all driving conditions. The map screen is a sight to behold, offering delightfully crisp 3D pictures, also as excellent responsiveness when zoomed and panned. Likewise, the interfaces for music and video playback are pleasantly uncluttered, responsive, and well thought out. One problem in our unit, although, was the lack of a sleep mode. The device's screen will stay on at full illumination when it is left idle even when running on battery power. there is also no sleep button on the device.

The GPS 500 gives audible commands for turns, which is useful for anticipating forthcoming maneuvers. As mentioned, although, the device doesn't supply text to speech potential for reading the names of places or forthcoming addresses.

Navigation
The major function of any car GPS device is to take you reliably from point A to B. Here the GPS 500 performs nicely indeed, some number of alternatives for finding your destination. To get going you may be able to choose either a street address, a particular point of interest like a gas station or restaurant, a recent or saved destination, a postal code, or an intersection if you are not sure of the exact address. To speed up text entry, the unit employs an intelligent auto completion feature that displays only the letters that spell an item in its database. This largely decreases the letters from which you must decide to tell it where you want to go.

Accurate, in depth 3D navigation, and turn by turn directions. View bigger.

Use the unit's touch screen to enter address places. View bigger.

An intuitive menu allows you to switch quickly between music, video, and navigation alternatives. View bigger.

Once it knows where you're headed, the device offers you the choice of shortest distance or most use of freeways or another high speed arterials. you will also find a trip planner that allows you to lay out and save many places, also as avoidance choices for routing your trip away from borders, toll roads, unpaved roads, ferries, and more. If you take a wrong turn or have to use a detour, the GPS 500 will automatically re route you and get you back on your way.

Preloaded maps of the U.S. and Canada assist you quickly plan your trip. All you must do is drive. See path planning details.

And how did the GPS 500 perform out on the road? In a word, admirably. separately from some lags and interface hiccups that we hope may be attributed to our pre production software, the responsiveness of the device, joint with the excellent user interface, are what make it a delight to use. Add that to very fast and correct GPS signal processing, and you have got a recipe for navigation nirvana. usually, the device decided on logical and economical routes, too something that can not be said of all GPS devices out there. This is probably the result of using correct and up to date mapping data.

Multimedia
The GPS 500 strives to be more than just another GPS device in a crowded market, and that is probably why Harman Kardon polished the multimedia features of the device so well. With support for MP3 and WMA music files, the music player has a refreshingly intuitive user interface and good sound quality. it is a cinch to browse music on your SD card by artist, album, genre, playlist, and song. Another nice touch is that you may keep the music playing while the unit is in navigation mode.

Video playback is equally straightforward. The device recognizes WMV9 or MPEG 4 AVI video files and presents them in a scrolling list. Press a title and you are off in movie land, complete with smooth framerates and minimal jitters throughout high action sequences. We did meet a format incompatibility with an AVI file encoded in the DIVX format. Attempting to play the file freaked the GPS 500 out, and a hard reset was obliged. Harman Kardon is clear about which file formats are supported, but many people may inadvertantly try to play a DIVX encoded AVI instead of an MPEG 4 AVI. larger format support could be a welcome addition.

To ease some of the ache of to get your movies and TV shows into the right format for the GPS 500, Harman Kardon gives a brief guide for Windows Media Player users. Mac users will have to use third party media encoders to prepare their videos for the GPS 500. Lastly, battery life when playing back videos was amazingly good. After a two hour movie the GPS 500 was only down to a 40 % charge.

Pros

• Excellent user interface
• Fast, correct GPS performance, good mapping potential
• Polished, user friendly music and video playback

Cons

• Minor lag throughout some functionings
• Limited video format compatibility
• No sleep or low power standby function

What's in the Box
GPS 500, car charger, wall charger, USB cable, fold flat mounting bracket, plastic disc for dash mount, sticky pad for plastic disc, alcohol cleaning pad for dash surface, quick start guide, and carrying case.

Review:
Review
Creating a device that does more than one or two things well proved elusive for device manufacturers. So called "convergence" devices devices that supply multimedia, communication, and navigation functions, for instance are just beginning to mature into merchandise worth purchasing. One such product is the Harman Kardon GPS 500, which pulls an admirable hat trick by combining above average music and video playback with a top notch GPS navigation experience.

Navigation, Music and Movies on One Device

Turn by turn directions and navigation prompts appear as needed, throughout music playback.

Enjoy your beloved music in your car or on the sofa. The unit supports MP3, AAC, and WMA audio formats.

The SD card slot supports up to 4GB, enough room for hours of video.

Granted, you do not get some top counter features like Bluetooth integration, text to speech address announcements, or wireless traffic reports, but Harman Kardon has wisely stuck with basics and polished them into an experience that, separately from some software problems we encountered on our pre production model, does not fail to disappoint.



Navigation
The major function of any car GPS device is to take you reliably from point A to B. Here the GPS 500 performs nicely indeed, some number of alternatives for finding your destination. To get going you may be able to choose either a street address, a particular point of interest like a gas station or restaurant, a recent or saved destination, a postal code, or an intersection if you are not sure of the exact address. To speed up text entry, the unit employs an intelligent auto completion feature that displays only the letters that spell an item in its database. This largely decreases the letters from which you must decide to tell it where you want to go.

Accurate, in depth 3D navigation, and turn by turn directions. View bigger.

Use the unit's touch screen to enter address places. View bigger.

An intuitive menu allows you to switch quickly between music, video, and navigation alternatives. View bigger.

Once it knows where you're headed, the device offers you the choice of shortest distance or most use of freeways or another high speed arterials. you will also find a trip planner that allows you to lay out and save many places, also as avoidance choices for routing your trip away from borders, toll roads, unpaved roads, ferries, and more. If you take a wrong turn or have to use a detour, the GPS 500 will automatically re route you and get you back on your way.

Preloaded maps of the U.S. and Canada assist you quickly plan your trip. All you must do is drive. See path planning details.

And how did the GPS 500 perform out on the road? In a word, admirably. separately from some lags and interface hiccups that we hope may be attributed to our pre production software, the responsiveness of the device, joint with the excellent user interface, are what make it a delight to use. Add that to very fast and correct GPS signal processing, and you have got a recipe for navigation nirvana. usually, the device decided on logical and economical routes, too something that can not be said of all GPS devices out there. This is probably the result of using correct and up to date mapping data.



Multimedia
The GPS 500 strives to be more than just another GPS device in a crowded market, and that is probably why Harman Kardon polished the multimedia features of the device so well. With support for MP3 and WMA music files, the music player has a refreshingly intuitive user interface and good sound quality. it is a cinch to browse music on your SD card by artist, album, genre, playlist, and song. Another nice touch is that you may keep the music playing while the unit is in navigation mode.



Video playback is equally straightforward. The device recognizes WMV9 or MPEG 4 AVI video files and presents them in a scrolling list. Press a title and you are off in movie land, complete with smooth framerates and minimal jitters throughout high action sequences. We did meet a format incompatibility with an AVI file encoded in the DIVX format. Attempting to play the file freaked the GPS 500 out, and a hard reset was obliged. Harman Kardon is clear about which file formats are supported, but many people may inadvertantly try to play a DIVX encoded AVI instead of an MPEG 4 AVI. larger format support could be a welcome addition.



To ease some of the ache of to get your movies and TV shows into the right format for the GPS 500, Harman Kardon gives a brief guide for Windows Media Player users. Mac users will have to use third party media encoders to prepare their videos for the GPS 500. Lastly, battery life when playing back videos was amazingly good. After a two hour movie the GPS 500 was only down to a 40 % charge.

This personal travel helper has a super bright, sunlight readable, 4 inch widescreen with greatly correct 2D and 3D navigation potential. See more pictures: back right side left side

Design
The GPS 500 is solidly built something we expect from Harman Kardon and it instills a sense of confidence that it can survive the bumps of bruises that come with the mobile lifestyle. Measuring roughly 4.5 inches large by 3.5 inches high, and a little over half an inch thick, the device is only a little chunkier than your average PDA or Smartphone. The clean lines of the GPS 500 are improved by a complete lack of buttons, all interaction with the device happens between the touchscreen and your finger. In the interest of simplicity, there isn't a stylus that can fall to the floor and roll under the seat of your car.



The only button you will find on the device is the recessed power button on the top, right beside the SD card slot. The slot accepts cards with up to four GB of capacity. there is also a small jog wheel on the right side for volume and display light control. Below this dial you will also find a mini USB port that serves double responsibility for both charging and PC to device data transfers, also as a regular 3.5 millimeter headset jack. In the meantime, you will find a pinhole reset button on the bottom, also as a hold switch on the left side for deactivating the touchscreen. Lastly, the back of the unit sports a small audio speaker and a port for an optional GPS signal booster antenna.




Setup and Interface
Setup is as easy as turning the device on, since it comes loaded with maps of the U.S. and Canada. On 1st bootup, decide from English, Spanish, or French language alternatives for the spoken directions and interface menus.



Interacting with the GPS 500's touchscreen is delightfully intuitive and reliable, there is really no need for a stylus or navigation buttons, which simplifies things on the road. The division of the major interface into four major quadrants is a useful touch, and it is refreshing to see manufacturers moving away from uncomfortable icon based menus. Instead of drilling down through lists of icons, all of the GPS 500's alternatives are presented on simple, color coded shapes. That said, we were a little puzzled by the use of the "Source" menu key, which takes the user back to the major menu from any point in the interface. it is a useful feature, but why not call this the "Home" button instead?



The screen itself is sharp and clear, offering great resolution and clearness in all driving conditions. The map screen is a sight to behold, offering delightfully crisp 3D pictures, also as excellent responsiveness when zoomed and panned. Likewise, the interfaces for music and video playback are pleasantly uncluttered, responsive, and well thought out. One problem in our unit, although, was the lack of a sleep mode. The device's screen will stay on at full illumination when it is left idle even when running on battery power. there is also no sleep button on the device.



The GPS 500 gives audible commands for turns, which is useful for anticipating forthcoming maneuvers. As mentioned, although, the device doesn't supply text to speech potential for reading the names of places or forthcoming addresses.



Pros

• Excellent user interface
• Fast, correct GPS performance, good mapping potential
• Polished, user friendly music and video playback

Cons

• Minor lag throughout some functionings
• Limited video format compatibility
• No sleep or low power standby function

What's in the Box
GPS 500, car charger, wall charger, USB cable, fold flat mounting bracket, plastic disc for dash mount, sticky pad for plastic disc, alcohol cleaning pad for dash surface, quick start guide, and carrying case.




Harman Kardon GPS-500