I went with a Foxwell NT644 and did the upgrade to the Pro....
I found a screaming deal on the 644 and then was able to update to the Pro for $120 more directly from Foxwell.

It has been VERY good to me... although I do have a dedicated laptop with all the craptastic software loaded as a backup.

I would never go with the BT dongles junk, they all suck and require a monthly service fee or annual, the Foxwell is a lifetime free update.
if you signup on their site they run sales from time to time

What did you do to / for your E53 today??
 

Are you able to get biddirectional functions by upgrading to pro?

I didn't get 6xx because it wouldn't activate functions like engage AC compressor. It's that resolved with pro upgrade?

I think I may have answered my own question. The 680 looks like upgrade from 644 (discontinued) and looks pretty awesome. Double the price of nt510/520 but looks pretty nice at first glance.

The BT model I bought does everything the nt510 can do and more but it's $40/yr (first year included). The kludgy software will likely make it a one year experiment for me. The foxwell is very very very kludgy interface reminds me of Atari 2600 or DOS 3.0. I would love to have a tablet interface with 1990 or better visuals and human interface. So that seems to be impossible under $1000.

Android OBD2 apps on phones/tablet + Bluetooth dongles
 

I bought my first smartphone (an Android phone, a Samsung Rugby Pro) in 2013 (I really loved my flip-phone though) just so I could run the Torque Pro app, which only cost about $5. I also bought a $15 BAFX Bluetooth dongle so I could run it. I used/still use both to this day, though I lean more to scan tools now, for most things.

The Torque Pro has good info available for my GM cars, but I haven't found PIDs for my E53, if they exist at all, and am presently using a spare Samsung smartphone J-327A as a dedicated coolant gauge in front of the shifter on my X5 (via Torque Pro).

I'm using an OBDLink LX dongle in both the X5 and my 2500HD (both left plugged-in, for convenience, and my instant coolant gauge, using the LX's auto-off feature). I can also utilize the free OBDLink app that only works with their dongles; it's very similar to Torque Pro.

I looked into both Bluedriver and Carly, but figured that Bluedriver wasn't bidirectional, so my money was better spent on a Foxwell, and I'm not sure whether Carly for BMW is worth the money. I'll probably go to a laptop and BMW scanner 1.4 or something to do coding, if I live long enough.

Carly now is subscription. It had lots of teething pains in infancy that led me to get foxwell.

Foxwell is so pokey and interface from 1980s I really want something better

680 is the new 644
I only went with the Pro upgrade as it was cheep enough and I got a screaming deal on the non pro. And I work on enough of my friends junk that having the other brands was nice

I have not found anything that "doesnt work" I know the AC works as I needed to cycle the electric fan and that worked(well fan didnt but)

For $229 you cant go wrong with lifetime updates. 99% in here dont need the Pro though.

IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT....
yes its not a slick interface, but I dont care.
It does almost everything I need it to do

And I will never spend big money on hardware only to have it turn to a brick because I dont pay a monthly fee and or the company goes out of business and locks everyone's software... NEVER AGAIN

What did you do to / for your E53 today??
 

Foxwell does the job other than coding. I mostly agree with the why buy a future brick but at $40/year is not a bad cost of Buisness if they keep updating the software.

I'd like to see a comparison between 510 and 644 pro.

Foxwell NT520 VS NT510 VS NT644 VS NT624 VS NT414

Not huge if you only work on BMW..

How hard is it to install the software for other makes onto an NT510? Just curious, I've been eyeing other cars lately and I'm curious how easy the software download is.

How hard is it to install the software for other makes onto an NT510? Just curious, I've been eyeing other cars lately and I'm curious how easy the software download is.