Harman Kardon GPS-810 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator and Media Player
from: Harman Kardon
List Price: $599.99
Prices subject to change.
Price: $299.00
You Save: $300.99 (50%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Product Description:
Text-to-Speech in English announces the next manuever by name such as the street name or highway. The GPS-810's translation from Text-to-Speech is very easy to understand and natural sounding. Bluetooth is built in offering the ability to pair with Bluetooth enabled cell phones for handsfree communication. Wireless remote control that can control all functions of the unit independently or in combination with the 4.3" touchscreen. 4.3" WQVGA 480 x 272 High resolution widescreen.The unit is preloaded with maps of the U.S. including Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico as well as Canada are included. Full-featured digital audio & video player is included to make it a great personal media player in addition to an incredible portable navigation unit. The audio player allows you to search by artist, album, genre, song or playlist and displays album art. High Speed 2D/3D Navigation Listen to Music while navigating Turn by Turn maps and spoken directi
Amazon.com Product Description, December 12, 2007:
High-end audio equipment manufacturer Harman Kardon's continues to combine solid navigation with truly superb media player function in its GPS products, creating a bar for navigator/personal entertainment system convergence devices. They've improved their models this year with a fuller feature set and a nifty little remote.
Feature Set
With their first line of GPS navigators released last year, H-K wisely stuck to the basics with their navigation. Perhaps that was the reason navigation worked so much better on Harman Kardon's devices than on some other navigators produced by manufactuer's whose core business was not GPS.
With basic nav nailed down however, Harman Kardon added a full feature set into this year's models. All of the new models -- the GPS-310, GPS-510, and GPS-810, -- come with text-to-speech for spoken directions with real street names, a photo viewer and MP3 player. The GPS-510 adds a video player. The GPS-810 has the same features you'd get on the top-end model from any manufacturer, including , bluetooth connectivity, traffic data capability (from TMC Clear Channel), and an FM transmitter that will deliver both directions and music through an open channel on your car's stereo system.
Navigation
The main purpose of any car GPS device is to take you reliably from point A to B. Here the GPS-810 performs nicely indeed, providing several options for finding your destination. To get going you can select either a street address, a specific point of interest such as a gas station or restaurant, a recent or saved destination, a postal code, or an intersection (if you're 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 greatly reduces the letters from which you have to choose to tell it where you want to go.
Once it knows where you are headed, the device offers you the choice of shortest distance or most use of freeways or other high-speed arterials. You'll also find a trip planner that lets you lay out and save multiple destinations, as well as avoidance choices for routing your trip away from borders, toll roads, unpaved roads, ferries, and more. If you take a wrong turn or need to use a detour, the GPS-810 will automatically re-route you and get you back on your way.
And how did the GPS-810 perform out on the road? In a word, admirably. The responsiveness of the device and excellent user interface make it a joy to use. The GPS-810 also has an extremely fast and accurate GPS signal processor, so it locks, calculates and recalculates routes, and responds to commands quickly. One of the hardest things for a manufacturer without a long history in building GPS navigators is getting the routing algorithms correct, so it was nice to see that Harman Kardon seems to have gotten this right. In most cases, the device decided on logical and efficient routes, too--something that can't be said of all GPS devices out there.
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 first bootup, choose from English, Spanish, or French language options for the spoken directions and interface menus.
Interacting with the GPS-810's touchscreen is delightfully intuitive and reliable; there's really no need for a stylus or navigation buttons, which simplifies things on the road. The division of the main interface into four main quadrants is a helpful touch, and it's refreshing to see manufacturers moving away from awkward icon-based menus. Instead of drilling down through lists of icons, all of the GPS-810's options 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 main menu from any point in the interface. It's a useful feature, but why not call this the "Home" button instead?
The screen itself is sharp and clear, offering great resolution and clarity in all driving conditions. The map screen is a sight to behold, offering delightfully crisp 3D images, as well 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, though, was the lack of a sleep mode. The device's screen will stay on at full illumination when it's left idle--even when running on battery power. There's also no sleep button on the device.
Hands Free Phone That Really Works!
Using Bluetooth wireless capability to allow GPS navigators to function as hands-free phone kits is becoming more popular, especially as more states pass laws that prohibit in-car cell phone use without a hands-free kit, so lots of navigators are sporting the feature these days. However, this is an area in which the GPS-810 really shines, primarily because of the dual microphone and Harman Kardon's patented noise-cancelling technology.
Most GPS navigators have a single microphone located in the center of the device, which can make you sound garbled on the other end. The GPS-810 has two microphones, one on each side of the device, so both passenger and driver can use the hands-free phone kit and come through clearly. Also, Harman Kardon has installed the same kind of noise-canceling system they use in their high-end audio products, to further enhance intelligibility.
Multimedia
The GPS-810 strives to be much more than just another GPS device in a crowded market, and that's likely why Harman Kardon has 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's a cinch to browse music on your SD card by artist, album, genre, playlist, and song. Another nice touch is that you can keep the music playing while the unit is in navigation mode.
Design
The GPS-810 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 approximately 4.5 inches wide 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-810 are enhanced by a complete lack of buttons; all interaction with the device happens between the touchscreen and your finger. In the interest of simplicity, there is not even a stylus that can fall to the floor and roll under the seat of your car.
The only button you'll find on the device is the recessed power button on the top, right next to the SD card slot. The slot accepts cards with up to 4 GB of capacity. There's also a small jog wheel on the right side for volume and display brightness control. Below this dial you'll also find a mini-USB port that serves double duty for both charging and PC-to-device data transfers, as well as a standard 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. Meanwhile, you'll find a pinhole reset button on the bottom, as well 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.
Pros
Excellent user interface
Fast, accurate GPS performance; good mapping capabilities
Polished, user-friendly music and video playback
Minor lag during some operations
Limited video format compatibility
No sleep or low power standby function
GPS-810 portable navigator, wireless control knob, wireless FM transmitter, 4-hour lithium-polymer battery, USB 2.0 Hi-Speed computer interface with cable, fold-flat windshield/dashboard mounting bracket, dashboard mounting disk, car charger, wall charger, traffic antenna, carrying case, quick-start guide
Amazon.com Product Description, December 12, 2007:
High-end audio equipment manufacturer Harman Kardon's continues to combine solid navigation with truly superb media player function in its GPS products, creating a bar for navigator/personal entertainment system convergence devices. They've improved their models this year with a fuller feature set and a nifty little remote.
Feature Set
With their first line of GPS navigators released last year, H-K wisely stuck to the basics with their navigation. Perhaps that was the reason navigation worked so much better on Harman Kardon's devices than on some other navigators produced by manufactuer's whose core business was not GPS.
With basic nav nailed down however, Harman Kardon added a full feature set into this year's models. All of the new models -- the GPS-310, GPS-510, and GPS-810, -- come with text-to-speech for spoken directions with real street names, a photo viewer and MP3 player. The GPS-510 adds a video player. The GPS-810 has the same features you'd get on the top-end model from any manufacturer, including , bluetooth connectivity, traffic data capability (from TMC Clear Channel), and an FM transmitter that will deliver both directions and music through an open channel on your car's stereo system.
 4-inch WQVGA 480px x 272px high-resolution widescreen touch screen (actual size) |
The main purpose of any car GPS device is to take you reliably from point A to B. Here the GPS-810 performs nicely indeed, providing several options for finding your destination. To get going you can select either a street address, a specific point of interest such as a gas station or restaurant, a recent or saved destination, a postal code, or an intersection (if you're 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 greatly reduces the letters from which you have to choose to tell it where you want to go.
Once it knows where you are headed, the device offers you the choice of shortest distance or most use of freeways or other high-speed arterials. You'll also find a trip planner that lets you lay out and save multiple destinations, as well as avoidance choices for routing your trip away from borders, toll roads, unpaved roads, ferries, and more. If you take a wrong turn or need to use a detour, the GPS-810 will automatically re-route you and get you back on your way.
And how did the GPS-810 perform out on the road? In a word, admirably. The responsiveness of the device and excellent user interface make it a joy to use. The GPS-810 also has an extremely fast and accurate GPS signal processor, so it locks, calculates and recalculates routes, and responds to commands quickly. One of the hardest things for a manufacturer without a long history in building GPS navigators is getting the routing algorithms correct, so it was nice to see that Harman Kardon seems to have gotten this right. In most cases, the device decided on logical and efficient routes, too--something that can't be said of all GPS devices out there.
 Intuitive interface is easy to operate. See route planning details. |  Easy to understand traffic data |  |
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 first bootup, choose from English, Spanish, or French language options for the spoken directions and interface menus.
Interacting with the GPS-810's touchscreen is delightfully intuitive and reliable; there's really no need for a stylus or navigation buttons, which simplifies things on the road. The division of the main interface into four main quadrants is a helpful touch, and it's refreshing to see manufacturers moving away from awkward icon-based menus. Instead of drilling down through lists of icons, all of the GPS-810's options 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 main menu from any point in the interface. It's a useful feature, but why not call this the "Home" button instead?
 Accurate, detailed 3D navigation, and turn-by-turn directions. |  Use the unit's touch screen to enter address locations. |  An intuitive menu lets you switch quickly between music, video, and navigation options. |
The screen itself is sharp and clear, offering great resolution and clarity in all driving conditions. The map screen is a sight to behold, offering delightfully crisp 3D images, as well 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, though, was the lack of a sleep mode. The device's screen will stay on at full illumination when it's left idle--even when running on battery power. There's also no sleep button on the device.
Hands Free Phone That Really Works!
Using Bluetooth wireless capability to allow GPS navigators to function as hands-free phone kits is becoming more popular, especially as more states pass laws that prohibit in-car cell phone use without a hands-free kit, so lots of navigators are sporting the feature these days. However, this is an area in which the GPS-810 really shines, primarily because of the dual microphone and Harman Kardon's patented noise-cancelling technology.
Most GPS navigators have a single microphone located in the center of the device, which can make you sound garbled on the other end. The GPS-810 has two microphones, one on each side of the device, so both passenger and driver can use the hands-free phone kit and come through clearly. Also, Harman Kardon has installed the same kind of noise-canceling system they use in their high-end audio products, to further enhance intelligibility.
 |  |  |
Multimedia
The GPS-810 strives to be much more than just another GPS device in a crowded market, and that's likely why Harman Kardon has 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's a cinch to browse music on your SD card by artist, album, genre, playlist, and song. Another nice touch is that you can 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're off in movie land, complete with smooth framerates and minimal jitters during high-action sequences. We did encounter a format incompatibility with an AVI file encoded in the DIVX format. Attempting to play the file freaked the GPS-810 out, and a hard reset was required. Harman Kardon is very clear about which file formats are supported, but many folks might inadvertantly attempt to play a DIVX-encoded AVI instead of an MPEG-4 AVI. Broader format support would be a welcome addition. To ease some of the pain of getting your movies and TV shows into the right format for the GPS-810, Harman Kardon provides 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-810. Lastly, battery life when playing back videos was surprisingly good. After a two-hour movie the GPS-810 was only down to a 40 percent charge. | |
 |
The GPS-810 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 approximately 4.5 inches wide 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-810 are enhanced by a complete lack of buttons; all interaction with the device happens between the touchscreen and your finger. In the interest of simplicity, there is not even a stylus that can fall to the floor and roll under the seat of your car.
The only button you'll find on the device is the recessed power button on the top, right next to the SD card slot. The slot accepts cards with up to 4 GB of capacity. There's also a small jog wheel on the right side for volume and display brightness control. Below this dial you'll also find a mini-USB port that serves double duty for both charging and PC-to-device data transfers, as well as a standard 3.5-millimeter headphone jack. Meanwhile, you'll find a pinhole reset button on the bottom, as well 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.
Pros
Excellent user interface
Fast, accurate GPS performance; good mapping capabilities
Polished, user-friendly music and video playback
Minor lag during some operations
Limited video format compatibility
No sleep or low power standby function
GPS-810 portable navigator, wireless control knob, wireless FM transmitter, 4-hour lithium-polymer battery, USB 2.0 Hi-Speed computer interface with cable, fold-flat windshield/dashboard mounting bracket, dashboard mounting disk, car charger, wall charger, traffic antenna, carrying case, quick-start guide
Features:
- Text-to-Speech in English announces the next manuever by name such as the street name or highway.The GPS-810's translation from Text-to-Speech is very easy to understand and natural sounding.
- Bluetooth is built in offering the ability to pair with Bluetooth enabled cell phones for handsfree communication.
- The GPS-810 also includes a breakthrough wireless remote control that can control all functions of the unit independently or in combination with the 4.3" touchscreen.
- 4.3" WQVGA 480 x 272 High resolution widescreen.The unit is preloaded with maps of the U.S. including Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico as well as Canada are included.
- Full-featured digital audio & video player is included to make it a great personal media player in addition to an incredible portable navigation unit.The audio player allows you to search by artist, album, genre, song or playlist and displays album art.
Accessories:
Related Items:
- Transcend 8 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card TS8GSDHC6
- Transcend 16 GB SDHC Class 6 Flash Memory Card with Card Reader TS16GSDHC6-S5W
- A-DATA 16GB Turbo Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Class 6 Memory Card - Retail Package
- Navigon 7100 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator
- Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator
- see more
Browse for similar items by category:
- Electronics » Categories » GPS & Navigation » Vehicle GPS » Portable Vehicle GPS
- Electronics » Refinements » Browse Refinements » Connectivity Type for Networking (feature_two_browse-bin) » Bluetooth
- Electronics » Refinements » Browse Refinements » GPS Features (feature_two_browse-bin) » Bluetooth/Hands-Free Phone
- Electronics » Refinements » Browse Refinements » GPS Features (feature_two_browse-bin) » Cell Phone
- Electronics » Refinements » Browse Refinements » GPS Features (feature_two_browse-bin) » MP3 Player
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- The Jack of All Trades
Overall an excellent product. First the bad. The battery had a dead cell upon recieving it, but this was due to the fact it sat in a warehouse for a while. HK offers a fair warranty to fix this(still in the process of replacing so I can't comment too much about service#. The FM transmitter has terrible reception, even in my newer Mercedes-Benz with the expensive, full Harmon Kardon audio option from the factory.
With that said, this is the best unit available for your money in its price-range. ... Read More
Rating: 
- Best GPS !
First I have to tell you when you first buy the device leave it charge for 6 hours, then Update it ! it is really an excellent Device it runs on Windows CE and has plenty of extras (Video, Music and pictures) I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a GPS with extras (FM Transmitter not that good but that is the case with all FM Transmitters ). The Blutooth is fantastic it syncs with almost any cell phone, import your Phone Book and etc. Good Device and for 299 it is good deal even though some ... Read More
Rating: 
- HORRIBLE
product stopped working after 3 weeks. harmon kardon will not replace it. i've had Garmin, Tomtom, mio, and magellin before and will stick with tomtom.
Rating: - It is a fair GPS unit.
The unit is a fair unit.You cannot expect GPS to know every direction and location.GPS Navigation is a guide for the direction, not perfect.It is fair to say that it dos the job of the navigation possibly 85 to 90% accurate.I do not think none of GPS Navigation unit does the job for 100%.This units comes with the entertainment package as well as the remote.If you are looking for the GPS with Entertainment, this is it.Do not expect the unit is perfect.None of GPS unit is perfect.
Read More
Rating: - Pretty sharp unit
I have owned this harman kardon gps for about 6 months, I had a couple of issues with the unit at first, but quickly overcame the problems with a couple of calls to customer support, They were very helpful and gave me the answers I was seeking. The unit at first would not interface with my verizon phone with the names for calls, numbers were no problem. I downloaded the update and now it works perfectly.I would recommend this gps to anyone looking for a unit with all of the extras.
- The Jack of All TradesOverall an excellent product. First the bad. The battery had a dead cell upon recieving it, but this was due to the fact it sat in a warehouse for a while. HK offers a fair warranty to fix this(still in the process of replacing so I can't comment too much about service#. The FM transmitter has terrible reception, even in my newer Mercedes-Benz with the expensive, full Harmon Kardon audio option from the factory.
With that said, this is the best unit available for your money in its price-range. ... Read More
- Best GPS !First I have to tell you when you first buy the device leave it charge for 6 hours, then Update it ! it is really an excellent Device it runs on Windows CE and has plenty of extras (Video, Music and pictures) I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a GPS with extras (FM Transmitter not that good but that is the case with all FM Transmitters ). The Blutooth is fantastic it syncs with almost any cell phone, import your Phone Book and etc. Good Device and for 299 it is good deal even though some ... Read More
- HORRIBLEproduct stopped working after 3 weeks. harmon kardon will not replace it. i've had Garmin, Tomtom, mio, and magellin before and will stick with tomtom.
- It is a fair GPS unit.The unit is a fair unit.You cannot expect GPS to know every direction and location.GPS Navigation is a guide for the direction, not perfect.It is fair to say that it dos the job of the navigation possibly 85 to 90% accurate.I do not think none of GPS Navigation unit does the job for 100%.This units comes with the entertainment package as well as the remote.If you are looking for the GPS with Entertainment, this is it.Do not expect the unit is perfect.None of GPS unit is perfect.
Read More
- Pretty sharp unitI have owned this harman kardon gps for about 6 months, I had a couple of issues with the unit at first, but quickly overcame the problems with a couple of calls to customer support, They were very helpful and gave me the answers I was seeking. The unit at first would not interface with my verizon phone with the names for calls, numbers were no problem. I downloaded the update and now it works perfectly.I would recommend this gps to anyone looking for a unit with all of the extras.
