Pharos GPS Phone 600 Review

Introduction When I first began my quest for the perfect GPS system there were a couple of options I discovered that were new to me. Pharos were a company I'd never heard of before and so I was very interested to see what they were offering. With an excellent reputation in the aerospace and electronics industries and a history of supporting space shuttle missions I began to get a little excited at what they had to offer. Surely a company that helps put men is space can guide me to a wedding? Read on to find out!

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Thanks go out to Pharos for providing us with a review sample.
For more information on Pharos and the Ostia software go to the Pharos Website

In the box The Pharos GPS Phone 600 is the whole package. It's convergence at its best. While many other manufacturers provide Bluetooth or wired GPS units to accompany the Pocket PC or Smartphone of your choice, Pharos have bundled the lot, phone and all, into one package. Forget accessories, this bad boy comes with all you need. It's huge. In the box you'll find:

Hardware Pharos GPS Phone 600 Power charger European charger attachment US charger attachment UK charger attachment Cigarette lighter charger Phone carry case USB charge/sync cable Wired headset Car cradle Windscreen attachment MicroSD card SD card adapter

Software Outlook 2002 CD (Full) Microsoft Streets & Trips 2005 Manuals CD SpB Time CD with SpB Suite trial versions Documentation Hardware quick start guide Ostia quick reference guide A brief introduction to GPS navigation Valuable extras for GPS phone Installation guide with key

There's also extra software that comes preloaded on the device: Ostia Navigation software SpB Mobile Shell SpB Fullscreen Keyboard EZDial Program manager Worldmate Professional Phew! Like I said, it's quite a package. Pharos have aimed to provide the total Pocket PC GPS experience and from the contents of the box, you can see they have gone a long way toward it.

Test Hardware As the GPS Phone is the "whole package" I will be using the device itself for the majority of the testing. In order to provide some comparison of performance with the other GPS systems in our shootout review I'll also test the Ostia software on my standard test equipment: HTC Touch. Proporta supplied Freedom Bluetooth Keychain GPS reciever. Proporta Alu Leather case for HTC Touch. Proporta magnetic vehicle docking system. Plantronics 655 Bluetooth Headset.

Installation The installation footprint for the Ostia software is: Main Application: 4.6MB Add-ons (voices etc): Approx 10MB per voice, default voice is installed to device Maps: Varies. Maps are small and modular installed by region. I installed the UK (99MB) and northern France (18MB) for 117MB The installation of the software package was very simple indeed. Put the SD card into the device, click next, and away you go. Pharos have included an automated installation program that installs all the extra free goodies (SpB Mobile shell, Worldmate Pro etc) along with the Ostia software. Registering the software is just as simple as the installation; you are prompted to enter the registration key the first time you run Ostia. This is provided on a certificate in the box. Enter the key and you're in business.

Hardware One of the main things that distances the Pharos GPS Phone from its competitors is the amount of hardware the box contains. This really is an all in one Pocket PC GPS starter kit. There's everything from the Pocket PC itself to accessories including case, chargers and cradles. It's a very thorough, well thought out package. Kudos to Pharos. Life's not all about quantity though, so what about the quality of the items included? The accessories are standard fare, they do the job they were designed to do well without being spectacular (in fairness though it's difficult to be spectacular when you're a cigarette lighter charger!). I'm sure, like me, it's the device hardware you're most eager to hear about, so lets take a look. The Pharos device is essentially a rebadged Eten X500 Pocket PC. Pharos has included their own ROM as opposed to the Eten ones, but more about that later. Physically the Pharos is nicely designed. It's a compact device, with dimensions measuring 59.5 x 113 x 15.5 millimetres. This makes it slightly longer but shallower than the HTC Artemis (P3300, O2 Orbit etc) and about the same width and depth but slightly longer than the HTC Touch. At 146g it's a little heavier than the HTC devices, but still manageable, with a nice weight distribution across the device. While the corners of the device are rounded generally it's quite square. This makes it feel a little bulkier in the pocket but not drastically so. You definitely won't forget it's in your pocket, but it will not make you feel overly uncomfortable either. It's a good balance.

From an aesthetic perspective it's a very attractive looking machine. The front has a brushed steel looking inset which goes well with the gun metal coloured outer edges. The back of the device is matt black which gives the illusion of it being slimmer than it is. While in my opinion there are enough hardware buttons to go round there aren't a huge amount. As standard the front face of the device houses the d-pad, call buttons and soft keys along with two further buttons assigned to GPS and Home. I found these buttons to be a little bit spongy, but not enough to create an issue. The edge of the machine has buttons for the Camera and Power on the right hand side, with volume and an extra hardware button on the left. By default the extra button is mapped to rotate the screen to landscape and back, although I found it more useful mapped to the OK button. These buttons, unlike the d-pad, have a very nice feel to them and are inset to lessen the chance of an accidental activation. On the bottom edge are the USB charge/sync port and the MicroSD card slot. Finally you'll find the a cluster on the back of the device containing the vanity mirror, flash, camera lens, speaker and external antenna. The hardware specification of the device is about average to low for today’s market. You get a 400Mhz CPU, 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM. The ROM and CPU are both ok, but the RAM is a touch on the miserly side. 128MB to match the ROM would have been nice. The screen is a bright and clear 2.8", 240x320 (QVGA) TFT, which perform reasonably well outdoors in the sunshine. I did not have any issues reading the directions on the screen while walking. For wireless data transfer you have the option of either 802.11g (54g) Wifi, Bluetooth 2.0 and GPRS/EDGE. Unfortunately there is no 3G, but this will probably help keep the power usage low anyway. The camera is a standard 2MP one, with a reasonable flash and vanity mirror. One nice, and unusual addition is an FM radio and an external 2.5mm headphone jack. These go some way to offset the lack of SDHC compatibility on the MicroSD card providing you with another method of accessing audio media. I found the hardware generally very nice to use, and in my opinion better than the equivalent HTC device, the Artemis. This is mainly my dislike for the Artemis scroll wheel, but I felt the rebadged Eten felt generally more sturdy in the hand and more comfortable in the pocket too. One big disappointment to me was the ever present inability for Eten devices to connect to the T-Mobile UK network. It belies belief that Eten STILL have not rectified this issue. T-Mobile UK users beware!

Software Features NMEA-0183 compliant Detailed street level data, with up to 10 maps opened Automatically opens the map for your current location when a GPS lock is acquired Screen View supports landscape as well as portrait options Reference by address, intersection, POI, longitude/latitude or Outlook Contacts Routing from one Point of Reference to another, with up to 10 intermittent “Multi-Stops” in a single Route Easy to use Points of Interest categories such as Cash, Fuel, Food, Hotel, etc. Text directions, Visual driving directions, and Voice guidance Tap a street on the map to show street information Zoom in and zoom out with stylus Favourites stored on Pocket PC independent of Contacts GPS status indicator with on-screen strength indicator Real-time simulation of Route with GPS Powered Off Two views (1 overhead, 1 3D Birds-Eye), with night-view map display option

When navigating with the Pharos GPS Receiver you will find: Three routing methods: Fastest, Shortest, No Highway/Motorway, Avoid Toll Roads Street name of the next turn at the bottom of screen Displays the distance and direction of the next turn and distance to final Destination Screen display options: Map, Split Map with Arrow, and Arrow Audible Voice-prompt Route guidance Auto zoom-in and out before and after change in trajectory GPS Receiver position is always Point of Origin, when GPS is enabled An Auto Re-Route option and one-touch Re-Route button Moving map while navigating with the GPS Receiver Selectable “North Up” or “Heading Up” for map display Smart Navigator Services 4 internet-based services with subscription Real-time Traffic shows traffic speed and/or incident data based on your city Maps on Demand lets you load a map over the internet without using a CD POI Finder provides Points of Interest such as businesses, fire departments, WiFi Hotspots, Fedex-Kinkos, and more Follow Me allows you to see where other Members of your group are on the road, or for a Member to view a driver on the road Access each of these services wirelessly using built-in WiFi, GPRS, or other data connection at any WiFi hotspot

Presentation From a graphical perspective the Ostia software is a bit of a mixed bag. Everything displayed on the screen is done so clearly and is very readable. As with most of todays GPS software package the bundled Ostia software comes with both 2D and 3D views and night and day profiles. There are also several different display formats ranging from map only to next turn only and a couple of steps in between. I personally liked the 60% map 40% next display as I found this to be the best balance between the two. As I said though, although everything is well displayed from an information perspective the style generally lacks the polish we've seen on other applications. Don't get me wrong, there are some really nice touches. I find the horizon on the 3D view with the mountains and the clouds easy on the eye and a little amusing and When you change to the night made you then get a dark sky and moon instead of the mountains. Some might find it a bit clichéd, but I thought it softened the hardness of the vector graphics. The general vector graphics of the map itself seems a touch "mathematical". The roads could definitely benefit from a generous dose of anti aliasing to make the curves less pixelated. The same goes for the menu screens too. While they are clear with large selections to make finger use easy they are a little grey and drab. The main display screen is well laid out with a good large map display. At the bottom of the default panel layout is the menu button which is bright, but a little small. Along side the menu button is the GPS information button that shows a smiley when connected and sad face when no signal is available. Below these buttons is the information display. This is not configurable in Ostia, but then other than a "time to destination" everything else is included anyway. Generally I thought the driving screen was well laid out and easy to read at a glance. This is a must have for a GPS navigation package, so Ostia scores big here.

The GPS information applet contains much more than the usual single status screen with both a satellite radar type display and a histogram showing a breakdown of signal strength per satellite (channel). There's also the standard compass screen showing latitude, longitude, altitude and speed etc with a large directional display to boot. From an Audio perspective Ostia has a fairly standard feel about it. There are no unusual audio features but the voice implementation is loud and clear. The US version of the voice I used was friendly sounding and did not have a strong accent. The one issue I did have with the audio is the lack of speed controlled volume. The volume is controlled by the default system volume so changing it is not a massive issue, as there are volume up and down controls on the side of the device. If you swap between urban and motorway driving often you'll find it difficult to find a sound level that fits all scenarios. This means you'll either be straining to hear, drowned out or constantly adjusting the volume on the hardware buttons. I also thought the audio prompts were repeated a little often on occasion, but not enough to really worry about.

Ease of Use With driving laws becoming ever stricter, and for general road user safety, a telling sign of a GPS system's quality is minimal user interaction with the system once the vehicle is in motion. In order to reduce user attention and physical contact with the device to a minimum the menu systems need to be well thought out and the interface graphics easily recognizable at a glance. The majority of the Ostia menu system follows these guidelines beautifully. The navigation system is one of these, being simple, yet effective. You get many different ways of identifying your destination including Addresses, 7 digit post code searches, favourites, POI’s etc. One of the more unusual and effective methods to plot your destination is by using the contact information stored in your Windows Mobile contacts. As long as your addresses are stored correctly you can simply select the contact and Ostia will take you right to their door. An excellent feature. I found the keyboard keys using for typing in addresses and post codes etc a little small, but usable. To plan your trip you simply need to tap the menu button on the map screen. You'll then enter the destination menu. From here if you have the address or 7 digit post code you enter the address menu, enter your details and away you go. There are also quick options for POI's, Saved Places (favourites, recent destinations and outlook contacts) and home. If you're out and you want to find your way home it's as simple as Menu - Home. Easy. The only issue I had with the menus was the entry into the system itself. Pharos have done a great job of keeping on concurrent screen options in the menus to no more than 4 per screen attached to big readable buttons. Accessing through the system is quickly and easily achieved......once you're into it. It seems bizarre that after having gone to so much trouble with the menu structure that the menu button itself be so small. There is a facility to click anywhere on the map and route to it so I can see that general menu access from the map is not an option but it would be good if you could tap the information bar and go straight into the menu.

As well as the standard menu access Ostia also has a "Power User" option which uses a standard windows GUI menu overlaid over the top of the mapping screen. I found this a little unnecessary in general but could see some might find it easy to use with the stylus. Unfortunately my screen capture software wouldn't work with this aspect of the software so you'll have to take my word for it I'm afraid! Pharos has bundled a large array of Point Of Interest (POI's) into Ostia that can be used in two ways. You can select any of the POI to always be displayed on your journeys with an icon placed onto your driving map in real-time as you approach the POI. The second option is to search for nearby POI's of a certain type. For example if you need cash in a hurry you can search by local ATM (cash) machines. Both options work well and certainly for the local areas I tested the software the POI information seemed very current. Pharos currently offers traffic information through the Ostia software using a facility called Smart Traffic. Unfortunately for European users including myself this only covers major US cities so it isn't something I've tested. The service is designed to provide real time incident and speed information. Pharos are working to increase the coverage area of this service, but it is unknown if this service is likely to come to Europe. I like the way the maps for Ostia are modular as this means you can really keep your storage overhead to a minimum. It also means you could keep your local map on your device in case of SD failure. Pharos also offer a real-time Maps on demand download facility to registered users which means that if you stray from your current mapped locale you can download the map to cover you as you travel.

Performance The maps supplied with this version of Ostia are the latest 2007 iteration provided by NAVTEQ. This map base seems to be the most common used by the latest generation of GPS software packages. These maps are probably the most up to date reference available for vector mapping. From a GPS navigation performance perspective Ostia ran very well during my tests with the low powered CPU, internal GPS of the Eten device. In fact I'd go as far as saying Ostia is easily the swiftest and sturdiest performing GPS system I've used to date. Navigating through the internal menus was swift and with no noticeable lag. I clocked the in use memory footprint at start-up at a miniscule 1.8MB, increasing to 3.11MB once a lock had been established and a test route entered. I timed the GPS lock from a cold start at 5pm in the evening and under clear skies. The lock itself from program start-up to location identification from the bench in my garden was 32 seconds. I also tried using the device for other applications whilst Ostia is running and found the device responded very well for tasks like searching the web and reading email. Ostia sat nicely in the background. The last performance test and possibly the important for my own use is how the device handles incoming and outgoing calls while the GPS navigation system is active. To this end I tested incoming and outgoing calls by default using the handset itself and in a hands free fashion using a Bluetooth headset (Plantronics 855). Making out going calls with the handset was reasonably seamless with the GPS running and although the screen update of the caller ID is a little jerky for incoming calls it was satisfactory. The Bluetooth headset also performed well, in fact I didn't receive any device lockups throughout my whole time using Ostia.

Value Price $600 (GBP £285 approx) The package I received for review came bundled with the US and Canada version of the maps. Currently, Pharos do not offer the same package featuring device and software to the European market. The maps for UK and France were then added at my request. The US version of the bundle has a retail value of $600 which is a miniscule £285 in the UK at today’s rates, and can be found online even cheaper. At the moment the GPS package with bundled European maps is a little more difficult to come by in the UK, but the European maps tend to retail for approximately $20 more than the US ($90). Even if you were to buy the US device and the EU maps together this would only just top £320 and is incredible value. Pound for pound there is no other GPS/Pocket PC system that comes close. Ordinarily you would pay £300 or more for a Pocket PC alone. Add to this the Ostia software, the SpB software and the hardware accessories and I just wonder how Pharos can be turning a profit. This price is so low it leaves me speechless...... and that doesn't happen very often I can tell you!

Pros & Cons Pros	Cons
Fantastic value	No European hardware bundle available
Excellent package	No safety camera support
Good extra software	Small menu button
Well equipped accessory bundle	No time to destination
Nice device	No 3G
Good display options	No SDHC compatibility
Nice satellite status applet	Dated visuals
Clear speech	Device will not connect to T-Mobile UK data
Downloadable maps in real-time	No hardware controlled volume
No crashes experienced
No lag
Modular maps

4WM Rating 80%

Conclusion If you're planning to upgrade your GPS software or are a GPS virgin then it's worth looking past Ostia's slighted dated presentation to find the functionality and performance hiding beneath. Sure, there are other packages more attractive and easier to use but you'll experience less lockups and a quicker response from your Pocket PC while the Ostia navigation software is working. If you're living in the US, as a complete package for the user looking to upgrade their pocket pc and sample the world of GPS at the same time the Pharos GPS Phone 600 represents incredible value for money. While the hardware platform is starting to look a little underpowered in today’s market, you will not find a GPS solution of this quality for this money anywhere else!