Review of the Harman Kardon Guide + Play Model: GPS-500

Harman Kardon has long been a household name in the realm of elite home and mobile audio. They recently have begun to expand their brand name with a line of mobile vehicular GPS navigation systems. They have two models out a budget model and more of a mid range offering. Today I've gotten my hands on the GPS-500 which is their mid level GPS system. I'm going to go through some of its features and let you know if it is worth the purchase.

This GPS-500 is a lot like their budget model and is only priced about $30 higher. You get all the same great features but now you can view video files (WMV9 and MPEG4). If you're interested in this feature it certainly is worth the $30 upgrade. If not then I would just stick with the GPS-300 model.

This little 7.1oz device is a great ultra mobile device and has dimensions of 4.7" x 2.8" x .7" including the battery. The battery life brand new appears to be around 4 hours but comes with a standard car lighter charger as well as a wall charger. The package comes complete with a dashboard mount with suction attachment.

The software is very intuitive; you probably won't even need to look at the instruction booklet, though the instructions are written very well if you need to go that route (sometimes a sticking point for me). The touch screen is very accurate and looks great at 4" diagonal and running at a resolution of 480x272. The 300mhz dual core processor and 120MG of ram has this device quickly updating routes if you happen to miss a turn or need a quick recalculation. There are the standard features, avoid toll roads, shortest distance, shortest time, and a ton of points of interest (gas stations, restaurants, banks, etc). This GPS comes preloaded with both Canadian and US maps which is a nice feature especially if you're in the northern part of the country.

The multimedia portion of this device includes the video that I mentioned earlier, as well as the ability to play MP3's and VMA's. These can be loaded via 2.0 USB or through the SD slot which can accommodate a 4GB SD card. When it becomes time for a navigation change (like a turn or merge) the screen changes automatically from the multimedia screen and changes to your navigation prompt. The voice instructs you of your turn (in English, Spanish, or French) then returns to playing your media.

In the end I think that the GPS-500's ability to play video is worth the $30 upgrade over the $170 retail price of the GPS-300. If you're sure that you'll never want to use the video feature than I would just get the GPS-300, everything else is essentially the same. Ultimately it is a great little device for the casual user, the hardened road warrior may desire something with a few more features.