Harman Kardon GPS-300 4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

by Harman Kardon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 3.8 x 5.4 inches ; 2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000QSF2FY
• Item model number: GPS-300NA
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,758 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The 4-inch widescreen LCD display offers a wider map view than standard GPS navigators.

Harmon Kardon is lauded within the trade for its high-quality loudspeakers and A/V components, and now the company has leveraged its expertise to develop the Guide + Play GPS-300, a portable GPS navigator with an integrated MP3/WMA player. The GPS-300 sports a sleek, 4-inch widescreen interface that gives users access to a robust navigation system with a simple touch of a finger. The interface lets you toggle between device menus with ease, perform a point-of-interest (POI) search to find nearby restaurants, coffee shops, or bookstores, and access the music player at a moment's notice. More significantly, the GPS-300's navigation and music functions are tightly integrated, so you can see and hear all the important navigation information even while playing MP3 files--a rarity among portable navigation devices. Users can even set volume priority between the two functions.

The 4-inch widescreen LCD display, meanwhile, offers a larger map view when in GPS mode than standard navigators, with a 480 x 272 pixel resolution to ensure a clear, crisp viewing experience. It's also a breeze to supplement the built-in U.S. and Canada basemap thanks to the Secure Digital (SD) card slot, which accepts cards as large as 4 GB. As a result, you can install European street maps, rural U.S. street maps, topographical camping maps, and a host of other map types. And, of course, you can add MP3 and WMA files via the cards as well.

The GPS-300 offers tightly integrated navigation and music functions, with the ability to prioritize the volume levels.

A pocket-sized, virtually invisible portable mount secures the slim GPS-300 for automotive use, with a ball-and-socket joint providing an almost unlimited number of viewing angles. As a result, you can easily position the screen so that it can be seen from anywhere in the vehicle. Other details include 3 million points of interest, 2 GB of internal flash memory, a USB 2.0 high-speed interface, a rechargeable battery that runs for up to five hours per charge, a 12-volt power cable for in-vehicle charging, and a carrying case that's perfect for travel.

The GPS-300 measures 4.5 by 3 by 0.8 inches (W x H x D), weighs 7 ounces, and carries a one-year warranty.

What's in the Box
GPS-300 navigator, 12-volt power cable, USB cable, portable vehicle mount, user's manual.

Product Description

GPS-300 Portable Navigation + Audio device offers a highly intuitive and easy to use navigation device. It also offers playback capability of music. All access and control is via a 4" WQVGA touchscreen (widescreen format). In navigation mode, it offers easy-to-understand spoken instructions and visuals in the the lanquage you select (English, Spanish or French). Turn-by-turn graphics with all vital information is displayed and Maps of U.S. and Canada are built-in along with full point of interest database. The MP3 player offers browsing by Artist, Album, Genere, Song or Playlist and will display ID3 tags for Artist, title and album along with album artwork. MP3 & WMA audio formats are supported.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great GPS for Bargain Price, July 4, 2007

By 

TraveLots (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harman Kardon GPS-300 4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

I wanted to get my Dad a GPS for his summer road trip. I have a GPS-500 myself and knew it would be easy enough for my parents to figure out. From the pictures of the product it looked like the GPS-300 had the same easy to use interface as the 500. Thankfully it did. My dad had no problems learning to use the device. GPS locks quickly and the interface is snappy.

The 4" widescreen is a huge plus compared to other $300 GPS devices. 3.5" is just too small for someone my parent's age to see. I haven't seen anyone else offering a screen of this quality at this price point.

My parents don't use the music player, but I can confirm it is the same player as my GPS-500, with the exception of video and DRM support. It lets you browse by album, artist, genre and playlists. Music is played from the SD Card slot.

At this price you can't go wrong. It's as good as other products costing much more including the nuvi. In my opinion, the graphics and UI are the best of any PND at any price. If you need video and/or DRM go for the GPS-500. Either way you won't regret your purchase.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wow... the other reviewers are dead wrong about this one., March 6, 2008

By 

Fletch (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harman Kardon GPS-300 4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

I purchased the HK GPS300. I also have a Tom Tom One XLS. Let me tell you....there is no comparison. No GPS is perfect and I understand they to guide and help and not to think for the drivers, but the HK GPS300 is not the answer. I saw the rave reviews and there was a great deal on this unit at Sears, so I thought I'd give it a try for my other car....
Here is my out of the box experience with the HK GPS300... took forever to find GPS Signal, but finally did.... did not have my home address, even though my house has been here since 1973 (my street was listed though). The HK300 said I had reached my destination more than 1/4 mile before I was at the house. I checked for the grocery store down the street. It did have the grocery store in it's POI database, but said it was only 600ft my house when it is over a mile a way! I don't expect perfection, but I would expect to be in the general vicinity of the destination otherwise what good is it?

I'll try this thing for a few more days before returning it, but there is no comparison with this unit and a Tom Tom or a Garmin...Sorry HK, but only people who have never used a GPS before would give this item a favorable review. BTW.. I called HK to ask what the deal was (maybe my maps were out of date, etc.....) the guy said I don't know what to tell you, but it is, what it is...your unit has the most up to date maps and I really don't know what to tell you other than that. .....What do I do when I spend $$$$ on something that terrible, I take it back and get my money.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent GPS, November 6, 2007

By 

T. Dorman "TimD" (Newark, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harman Kardon GPS-300 4-Inch Portable GPS Navigator (Electronics)

Have been using GPS in my RV for about 8 years now. Started with Delorme on my laptop. OK, but cumbersome. Got a Navman ICN550 next. Really loved that unit, solid and extremely functional. However, maps were getting outdated and Navman no longer supports map updates for that particular model. Soooo -- I needed to move on to something else. Have had the HK 300 for a few weeks now. So far, so good. I have had to re-set it a few times and the battery drains rather quickly, even when the unit is not powered up. Maps are good, GPS functions perform well. Screen is very clear, volume is acceptable. MP3 player is OK, but cannot get Windows media player to transfer a playlist. Albums and songs transfer OK. Unit does not like a 4GB SD card, but 2GB card seems to work well. HK promises that map updates will be available in the future. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

POI's seem rather complete. Entering destinations is easy. A nice touch is that unusable letters grey out on the keyboard when entering a street or city name. This makes entry much quicker and easier.

The unit has nowhere near the flexibility of my old Navman, but it does a good job getting you where you want to go, as the maps appear to be up-to-date and accurate, and that is what a GPS is all about. In the end, it will all depend on the availability of map up-dates. Failing that it will be all but useless in a few years.

I believe one of the reviews I read said you could not charge the battery except with the DC charger. That is incorrect. The unit will charge from the USB port when connected to your home computer. There are so many units out there. You can go nuts reading specs and reviews. I place a lot of stock in user reviews. The HK has good user reviews and this is another one. Will be taking a long RV trip soon and will have the chance to give it a good workout. Will update this review after that trip.

12/8/07 Update

Unit performed very well on a trip from the S.F. Bay Area to Palm Springs. Once in Palm Springs used it in a rental car with an MP3 input. Having directions with music over the car radio was neat. Unit was right on the money with all locations I needed to find. No regrets at all about buying this GPS.