Harmon Kardon has announced three new Guide+Play GPS models that expand the sizes and options available in the company’s GPS line designed for the in-car navigation market. All the new units integrate navigation features with entertainment and multimedia, aiming to unclutter user’s dashboards and provide a consist experience.
The Harmon Kardon GPS-310 will offer both navigation and digital music player functions that can be used simultaneously and are designed to be used together: navigation info is visible even when music is playing, and users can set volume priority between navigation and music functions. The GPS-310 offers text-to-speech spoken directions, a 4-inch 480 by 272-pixel WQVGA touchscreen interface, SD/SDHC card expansio, 2 GB of internal flash memory preloaded with maps of the U.S. and Canada, and USB 2.0 connectivity.
The Harmon Kardon GPS-510 offers the same features as the 310, with the addition of a real-time traffic service (the unit comes with a 90-day trial from Clear Channel Total Traffic Network), video playback capability, and the ability to automatically transcode video transfered via USB on the fly with MTP support. The Harmon Kardon GPS-810 expands the screen to 4.3 inches, adds a “breakthrough” wireless rotary controller for in-car operation, Bluetooth wireless connectivity for hands-free calling, a JPEG-compatible picture viewing, as a wireless FM transmitter for pumping sound to a car’s audio system.
The units will be available in November from U.S. retailers, with the GPS-310 carrying a suggested price of $349.99, and the GPS-510 and GPS-810 going for $449.99 and $599.99, respectively.
