Pharos GPS Phone 600 device

[O'Brian]

If a smart phone is the perfect gadget for people on the go, why not choose one that can help you get where you're going? The Pharos GPS Phone 600 is equipped much like other Wi-Fi enabled Pocket PC phones, but with GPS capabilities added.The Pharos GPS Phone 600 is an advanced, expensive, touch-screen phone running a pared down version of a popular OS.The Pharos GPS Phone 600 combines a traditional Windows Mobile smart phone with a GPS navigator. Unfortunately, this convergence experiment isn't a successful one.



Accessing the GPS software is simple: Just select the option "Ostia by Pharos" from the Today screen. The menu system could use some work, though. Some of the buttons are large and clear, while others are cramped and require the stylus. This is a problem since you can't access the stylus while the phone is mounted on your window.

The 600 includes a 2 GB microSD card containing the company's Ostia navigation software, along with maps for the entire United States and Canada. Unlike many GPS packages, this even includes Alaska, Hawaii, and the uncivilized parts of Canada.iPhone comparisons may be premature, but considering the phone suffers from some user interface issues that could have been helped by a keyboard, this device may serve as a caveat to touch-screen phone makers about the pitfalls of keyless hardware.

The Pharos GPS Phone 600 is a relatively slim block of brushed metal with a large touch-screen face. Physically, it looks similar to the Cingular 8525, though without the slide-out keyboard it manages to be about a quarter-inch thinner. The design suffers from a few miscues that will stymie users familiar with the Pocket PC variety of Windows Mobile, or smartphones in general.It's a beautiful material, and I love the feel of it, but it is rather easily scratched. It's not quite tissue paper, but it's not as robust as I'd like to see in a GPS navigation device. It's also mildly smudge-prone.

The physical design is pretty unattractive: It's a big silver brick. At 4.5 x 2.3 x 0.6 inches and 5.2 ounces.

The hardware features of the device are pretty well spaced around, with the headphone jack, volume controls, and record button on the left side; camera, power, and reset buttons on the right; MicroSD and MiniUSB on the bottom; and the camera, mirror, speaker, and LED light on the back. The SIM card, of course, resides under the battery.

[O'Brian]

For starters, there's Spb Software's new Mobile Shell application, which is basically a complete user interface overhaul for the Pocket PC.The Pharos GPS Phone 600 comes unlocked, so we popped in our Cingular SIM for GSM coverage.Lots of calling features, like speaker-independent dialing and tight Outlook integration. One-touch dialing is difficult without a hardware keypad.Outlook is a desktop class e-mail client on this cell phone.



Of course, the integration of both GPS and cellular connectivity offers more than a few other interesting options, as well. Using SMS to deliver GPS coordinates; real-time tracking of field units; communicating with online map servers like Google Earth or Terraserver; the list goes on. The Pharos doesn't come pre-loaded for these options, but with a little third-party manuvering you could make it do some pretty interesting tricks.

Now the centerpiece of this phone is its GPS capabilities.This phone has the sensitivity and power of a stand-alone GPS device.Maps are loaded onto a microSD card, as opposed to services like VZ Navigator, in which maps are continually downloaded over the V Cast network. With capacities up to 2GB, microSD cards are certainly up to the task, but if you forget to load your card, you're stuck without a map. Pharos does offer over-the-air downloads for maps through its subscription-based Smart Navigator service, which also gives you real-time traffic reports, so you won't be completely out of luck. Smart Navigator will be free for a three-month trial period, but then users will be charged $7 per month, up to $66 for a full year of service.

The GPS menus themselves are modeled after those you might find on a car or stand-alone GPS device, using touch-screen menus and even a full-screen keyboard that grays-out letters to help you choose street names. Overall, however, we found navigating the software to be confusing. Often, selecting menu options required a lot of digging, or tapping upon general, unmarked locations on the map.Back on the plus side, we did appreciate the Point of Interest database, which included not only our favorite topics, such as hospitals and ATM machines, but also historical points of interest, plus one that we especially enjoyed: mountain peaks, which pointed out local summits in our state.

[Fullorton]

The stand-alone GPS device Pharos 600 is available at starting of $600.

Specifications:

• Processor: 400 MHz Samsung S3C2440
  
  
• Operating System: Windows Mobile 5.1 (Pocket PC) with AKU 3.2
  
  
• Display: 2.8 inch, 320 x 240 transmissive/reflective LCD
  
  
• Memory: 64 MB RAM; 128 MB flash (70 MB available); 2 GB MicroSD card (optional)
  
  
• Size & Weight: 4.44 inches long x 2.34 inches wide x 0.61 inches thick; 5.14 ounces
  
  
• Expansion: Single MicroSD slot
  
  
• Docking: Single Mini-USB plug
  
  
• Communication: Quad-band GSM/EDGE; 802.11b/g WiFi; Bluetooth 2.0
  
  
• Audio: 2.5mm headphone/headset jack; speakerphone; earpiece; microphone
  
  
• Battery: 1530 milliamp-hour Lithium Ion replacable
  
  
• Input: 5-way directional pad; softkeys; touchscreen
  
  
• Other: Built-in SiRFstar III GPS receiver with internal antenna; FM radio receiver; 2.0 MP camera