4. What's in the Box (Unboxing)

Figure 1: Harman/Kardon 810, Retail Box

The Harman/Kardon 810 ships with the following items included:

• Wireless control knob
• Wireless FM transmitter
• Four-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

Figure 2: Harman/Kardon Retail Box, Opened

Figure 3: What's in the Box?

Here you see everything included in the Harman/Kardon 810 box:

• Wireless control knob
• Wireless FM transmitter
• Four-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

The inclusion of a leather carrying case is a nice touch. The case is your typical leather case; it is adequate enough to provide basic protection for the 810's 4.3"LCD display.

The Harman/Kardon 810 measures 4.8 by 2.9 by 0.7 inches and weighs 8 ounces, slightly bigger and heavier than a Garmin nuvi 760 or Magellan Maestro 4250.

Overall the Harman/Kardon 810 is a handsome looking GPS. It is an major improvement over previous Harman/Kardon GPS units, has nice curves and looks excellent mounted of your windshield.

The left side of the Harman/Kardon 810 includes a lock and unlock slider.

The rear of the Harman/Kardon 810 is fairly clean and has the usual things you'd expect on the back of a GPS unit.

Figure 8: Harman/Kardon 810, Right

The right side of the Harman/Kardon 810 includes a physical volume wheel, a headphone jack, and an SD memory card slot.

The volume wheel has a nice tactile response and is easy to operate.

The SD card slot is capable of reading both SD and SDHC cards. The card was easy to get in and out thanks to the little crevice at the bottom of the slot. While my hands aren't the biggest, it shouldn't be a hassle for big fingers to get the SD card back out.

Figure 9: Harman/Kardon 810, Bottom

The bottom of the 810 is home to USB data port and the reset pin-hole.

The Harman/Kardon 810's USB port provides power to the unit, recharges the battery, and is used to connect the GPS to a computer.

Figure 10: Harman/Kardon 810, Top

A quick tap is all you need to power on the 810. The same goes to put the unit on standby- a low power consumption sleep mode that draws very little power but keeps the GPS ready to use (in standby mode, the GPS maintains it's GPS signal reception so that the unit is ready to navigate when powered back on).

To completely power down the 810, press and hold the power switch for 4 seconds.

Figure 11: Harman/Kardon's Windshield Mount

The 810 includes a powered windshield mount. The hinge is quite strong and I liked the docking design, but I would have liked to see it extend out a bit farther.

Figure 12: Attaching and Removing the Windshield Mount

The windshield mount is secured to the windshield glass by folding down the lever into the locked position, as shown above.

To remove the mount, you simply pull the lever up and grab the flap of the suction cup. It comes off quite easily thanks to the flap.

It is easy to dock the GPS into the windshield cradle, and a simple push button on the bottom of the unit allows for easy release of the GPS unit. The mount holds the GPS solidly in place and I had no trouble getting it on or off the mount.

Figure 13: Wireless Remote

One of the most unique aspects of the Harman/Kardon 810 GPS is the integration of HK's popular Drive + Play remote. The remote has 5 physical buttons (4 buttons around the perimeter, and one big button in the middle), and a twist ring around the edge.

This remote can be used to navigate the unit without the need to touch the GPS. More on this later in the review.

Figure 14: Included 12v Power Adapter

The 810 includes a 12v cigarette lighter power adapter. The power adapter plugs into the side of the windshield mount, a nice touch that makes docking and un-docking the GPS even easier (since you don't have to fumble with the power cable each time).

Figure 15: USB Cable

A standard USB data cable is included for connecting the 810 to a PC (sorry, no Mac support as of this writing).

Figure 16: Included AC Adapter

Connect the USB cable to the included AC adapter to charge the 810 outside the car.