Pharos 600 Reviewed
Article By Tim Hillebrand | August 05, 2007
Category: handhelds (eg, PalmOne, HP, etc.)
This little beauty is certain to please just about anyone who is interested in a compact multi-tasking, high-productivity handheld solution. The 600 sports one of the slimmest PPC phone formats I’ve seen, measuring just 4.4x2.3x.6 inches and weighing a mere 5.2 ounces.
Yet, this little powerhouse is so feature-rich that it is the Shopsmith of handheld devices. It has GPS onboard, plays MP3s, shows videos, takes pictures/videos with a 2.0 MPX camera, and even sports an FM radio.
This GSM/GPRS world-class PPC phone is unlocked, which means that you are free to use any SIM card with it. For further connectivity, it offers Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. There is no InfraRed port, however. But that doesn’t bother me, as I never seem to take advantage of this feature anyway.
Under the hood, it has a better than average 400 MHz processor with 128 MG of RAM and 64 MB of ROM, and runs on a Windows Mobile 5 operating system. The micro-SD expansion slot houses a 2.0 GB card that comes with it and contains the mapping program and data with some room leftover for storage.
It features built-in GPS receiver, maps of U.S./Canada, and millions of points of interest. All you have to do is push the navigation button in the upper right corner on the front of the device, and you may begin navigating almost immediately. I will discuss the GPS program in a separate review.
Let’s push some buttons to see what we get. On the face of the device, at the bottom, send and stop phone buttons bracket two softkey buttons that surround a navigation pad with an action button in the middle. There is no OK key, which I miss.
At the top of the screen frame there is a GPS button on the left and a home button on the right. To the far left an LED indicator light flashes when Bluetooth. WLAN or GPS is operating. Another LED on the far right flashes to indicated power on and cell phone activity. A speaker slot is in the top center of the frame.
On the right-hand side, look for the power button, a reset hole, and a button that brings up the camera and also shoots pictures. On the bottom panel, from right to left, there is a stylus silo, a mini-USB port, and a micro-SD card slot. On the left side panel, from bottom to top reside a 3.5 mm earphone jack, a button to change the screen orientation, which also doubles as a record key when you hold it in, and above that are the volume control buttons. On the back, is the battery cover, camera lens with self-portrait mirror, and speaker.
As you can surmise, this device is bristling with buttons that you have to be careful not to depress inadvertently. It seems I’m always changing the volume or screen orientation unintentionally or invoking the camera accidentally. Perhaps a button lock would be a good idea.
The respectable 1500, rechargeable Li-ion battery can run down rather rapidly when all the functions are running so that it is impossible to give any battery life benchmarks. Needless to say, when cruising with GPS on, it’s a good idea to connect to an external power source.
The 600 comes well imbued with ample software for productivity right out of the box. It has the normal Windows Office component consisting of Outlook, Word, Excel, Calculator, Calendar, Contacts, and PowerPoint. For games it offers only BubbleBreaker and Solitaire.
You will appreciate the pre-installed SPB MobileShell that gives instant access to the depths of your device from the Today screen with large icons that are easy to navigate using your finger. MobileShell also offers many skins so that you can customize the look of your screen. Shell also displays weather, battery, alarm, messaging, appointments, tasks, contacts, and photo quick dial icons if you wish.
There are some other nice applications installed as well, such as Voice Commander that lets you issue spoken orders to your pocket pal and really feel in charge. EZDial and EZVibe also give more functionality and ease of operation.
The 600 does not come with a physical keyboard, which I have to admit that I now miss after having grown accustomed to the one-handed operation I have with the Palm 750. Using the on-screen popup keyboard is pretty much a two handed proposition. Thoughtfully, Pharos includes a full-screen, large-keyed keyboard, but it’s still too small for me to tap with my fingers accurately.
In the box, you get a useful array of accessories that includes a 2 GB micro SD card with map program/data, a window car mount, battery, CD manuals with trial software, quick reference guides, a nice leather horizontal belt case, USB sync/charge cable, AC charger, car charger, and stereo earphones with volume control and microphone. It even has Microsoft Streets and Trips software, which is generous, but the Ostio navigation program is far superior for handheld devices. On the other hand, it is always nice to have Streets on your laptop or desktop.
While the mount is certainly a sturdy, serviceable model, it surprises me that it does not allow the device to swivel from portrait to landscape to accommodate the swivel screen. In fact, the arm of the holder even covers the orientation button. Oh well, just a thought. I suppose you could mount the unit horizontally if you wanted.
Conclusion
The virtues of this versatile unit are manifold with much to recommend and little to criticize. I suppose I find the sensitivity of all the buttons annoying when inadvertently depressed. I miss an OK button, and I miss a physical QWERTY keypad. However, I do appreciate the larger, higher resolution screen afforded by the missing keyboard. I do find it disappointing that it does not have a WM6 OS or an update available. It’s a trade-off. So much functionality bundled into such a small package has to be the overall winning factor that should stimulate stuffing this very smart phone into your pocket.
Check it out at www.pharosgps.com. It can be yours for anywhere from around $600 to a whopping $1114.43. It will certainly pay to shop around. However, at this price, you may also want to wait for a WM6 version.
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