Pharos Traveler 137 wins CES awards, has T-Mobile USA 3G...

[galaxys]

This new Pharos Traveler 137 has impressive specs, looks, gps, unbranded, unlocked, 3.5 screen, and best of all 3G for usa T-Mobile & AT&T(1900) users! It's scheduled to be out end of 1st quarter 2009. Here's more info...

http://www.pcworld.com/article/156387/pharos_traveler_137_gps_smart_phone_offers_navigat ion_no_network_required.html

http://www.tmonews.com/2009/01/pharos-introduces-first-unlocked-t-mobile-3g-phone/

SPECS:
Operating system: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (upgradable to WM6.5)
Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201A, 528MHz
Memory: 256MB DDR SDRAM, 512MB Flash ROM
Display: 3.5" TFT LCD Resistive
Resolution: 480 x 800 WVGA with 65K colors
Accelerometer
Phone: Unlocked with one SIM card slot
GSM Quad band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
EDGE / GPRS Class 12
Tri-band AWS 1700/1900/2100 MHz
UMTS 384Kb/s, HSDPA 7.2Mb/s, HSUPA 2Mb/s
Talk time: up to 4 hours ; 200 hours of standby

GPS: NMEA0183/AGPS compatible
Cold start <90 seconds (open sky, typical)
Warm Start <40 seconds (open sky, typical)
Hot start <1 second (open sky, typical)

Digital camera/camcorder: CMOS, 3.0 mega pixels, fix focus
Up to 2048X1536 resolution
0.3 mega pixels front camera for video conference

Antenna: Embedded (2G/3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM)
Expansion: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth® v2.0 + EDR
USB 2.0 High Speed
Micro SD slot support SDHC
Stereo audio jack through 11pin mini USB

Battery: 1380 mAh Li-Ion, rechargeable/replaceable
Device Dimension: 4.60in (L) x 2.40in (W) x 0.51in (H)
Device Weight: 4.94oz

[avathar behemoth]

gps services on a pay per day basis??!!?? euhm synonims like "prison sex" come to mind :D (something to do with ass and rape :D )
I WOULD NEVER get a gps phone that takes its gps service hostage against me the owner!!

[_fm]

Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201A, 528MHz :eek::eek:

Must be very Cool then,. :D

[pjhollin]

Does anyone know if the screen is resistive? Or capacitive?

[AllTheWay]

Processor: Qualcomm MSM7201A, 528MHz :eek::eek:

Must be very Cool then,. :D

I'd rather have a Marvell Processor myself.

[galaxys]

I'd rather have a Marvell Processor myself.

or this just announced Marvell's PXA168 Capable of 1GHz+ would be awesome on a new PPC device! :eek:

http://www.marvell.com/products/cellular/marvell_pxa168_applications_processor_sheeva/release/1199/

[AllTheWay]

or this just announced Marvell's PXA168 Capable of 1GHz+ would be awesome on a new PPC device! :eek:

http://www.marvell.com/products/cellular/marvell_pxa168_applications_processor_sheeva/release/1199/

That's exactly what I'm talking about. At least the 624mhz one thats in the Omnia would be nice.

[galaxys]

Does anyone know if the screen is resistive? Or capacitive?

It's a resistive screen.

[djrakun]

I've been looking at this phone for a while, and now that it's out, I'm having a heck of a time finding someone who sells it that has it in stock ( tried the websites suggested here (http://www.pharosgps.com/sales/) on their website). I did find it for $517, out of stock, on provantage.com (http://www.provantage.com/pharos-gps-ptl137~7PHRO056.htm) but it doesn't seem like this phone is very accessible

I have no reason to be a skeptic as to this phone's ability to get Tmo's 3g. The specifications show that it has the 1700/2100 bands required for the service, but I'd really like to know if anyone has been able to try it out yet and what kind of dl speeds they are getting ( oh, and where you managed to buy one from)

[galaxys]

FYI...it has not been released yet. The Pharos forum tech said on 03-31-09:
"The Traveler 137 is due to be released into the market in a couple of months. Unfortunately, we do not have the exact release date at this time. Thank you, Natalie"

Hopefully, they are trying to get WM6.5 on this bad boy for a June release...

[Tabbe]

when it comes to hardware, i will always check the cpu used
qualcomm = slow, very preformance lag & flickering

[orb3000]

Nice shame no physical keyboard and no HTC build...

[galaxys]

Agree that HTC & XDA support is important...
Also, it has the same qualcom chip and I wish it had the snapdragon! ;)

[galaxys]

FYI...PocketPC Thoughts announced the unlocked Pharos 137 (dual USA 3G & upgradable to WM6.5) finally goes on sale tomorrow at Amazon, Expance, Newegg, etc...
http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/mobile/news/show/93996/pharos-traveler-137-now-available-upgradeable-to-windows-mobile-6-5.html

[netnerd]

what kind of freaking joke is this??
cant find the phone on amazon, dell, or newegg!
or any places that have the phone "available"!

[galaxys]

^looks like Pharos Support replied to U on the their forum: that it would be delayed (again) for 1 week :confused:

[netnerd]

they better not have anymore delays! i just hate waiting!
otherwise i'm going to get acer f900.
acer f900 uses samsung 533mzh cpu, is that better than qualcom 528mzh?
but f900 only has 256rom/128ram, but i think that is enough?

[sikkboy626]

Does anyone know of any active ROM development for these phones? I would love for someone to cook up a custom build for this phone. Thanks in advance.

[galaxys]

Does anyone know of any active ROM development for these phones? I would love for someone to cook up a custom build for this phone. Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately, I have not seen any development (yet) for the PT137. It would be on the Pharos forum if there's going to be any cooking...
Note this just went on sale, so not too many have it...

[jlavoie]

i also have a PT137 and would love to see some rom development but i don't think it's going to happen here at xda. the pharos section in this forum is for the device htc made for them and i don't think htc is making the phones for pharos any more.

i will keep my fingers crossed and hope.

[netnerd]

i also have a PT137 and would love to see some rom development but i don't think it's going to happen here at xda. the pharos section in this forum is for the device htc made for them and i don't think htc is making the phones for pharos any more.

i will keep my fingers crossed and hope.


where u bought it from?

[jlavoie]

I bought it directly from pharos at www.pharosgps.com for $599.95. i ordered it late on Wednesday june 10th had it shipped 2nd day. Because of the weekend and my late order time i didn't receive it until Monday June 15th.

[netnerd]

thanks! i going to place my order at pharosgps.com too!
i preordered at expansys-usa.com, they keep delaying it, so i cancelled my order on 6/15/09. haha
also preordered on amazon.com, they havnt ship it yet!
so whoever send to me 1st, i will cancel the other order.

[netnerd]

screw it! i just going to wait my order from amazon.com!
tried to place order on pharosgps.com,
599.95 + 25 shipping + 55.50 tax = 680.45$ !

amazon.com, 485 + 15.99 shipping + NO TAX = 500.99$

that is a different of 180 buk!

[jlavoie]

i did jump the gun a little but pharos was the only place shipping on the 10th so i jumped on it. wish i would have waited to save some cash but i been using the sh*# out of the HSDPA on my T-Mobile $5.99 tzones plan since monday.
don't call me a cheap ass for not paying 20.00 for the rite plan, i've hade my tzones plan for about 5 years now (since i got it with my razor) and it has always worked from phone to phone (if it ain't broke don't fix it).

[netnerd]

jlavoie, can you test it on your friends ATT simcard? i want to know if ATT users able to roam on tmobile 3G.

[jlavoie]

i don't have any friends in town at the moment that are on att. the phone does support the 1900MHz band for 3g and as far as i know att uses both 850MHz and 1900MHz.
unlike t-mobile you don't have to have both bands for the 3g to work on att, the usage for two band is to reduce network load and increase coverage.

[netnerd]

i don't have any friends in town at the moment that are on att. the phone does support the 1900MHz band for 3g and as far as i know att uses both 850MHz and 1900MHz.
unlike t-mobile you don't have to have both bands for the 3g to work on att,


no, u dont need both 850 and 1900 band for att 3g to work. it' either 850 or 1900.

[galaxys]

i also have a PT137 and would love to see some rom development but i don't think it's going to happen here at xda. the pharos section in this forum is for the device htc made for them and i don't think htc is making the phones for pharos any more.
i will keep my fingers crossed and hope.

Congratz on your new PT137! It is not made by HTC & won't be supported on xda. Here's the Pharos forum I was refering to: https://www.pharosgps.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=3

How's the device feel (fast, sluggish, any resets, how much free memory, etc.)? Let us know the pros & cons...

[jlavoie]

all and all it's not bad. it's running an older version of 6.1 (20778) and the spb mobile shell that came with it is a pharos version (no pro screen and some different widgets). the device supports hardware 3d acceleration (installed TF3D 2) but the mobile shell version on the device is not showing the 3d acceleration mode. it has a g-sensor with an application to enable auto screen rotation but all programs i have installed (opera 9.7, 3d hologram and hd wobble) will not use the g-sensor. you can enable the auto rotation app and opera will rotate but you lose the cool animation but any game or software that uses the accelerometer for movement will not work. on a fresh start is has about 360mb storage and about 130mb free ram (nothing loaded). it's got a good feel in the hand but it is large. I've dropped it once (on carpet thank god) trying to end a call with the hard end key but the 3.5 inch screen is awesome. when they come out with the 6.5 update i will be a vary happy customer.

[drtolson]

I had a 'pre-production' model shipped to me from Pharos for testing a couple of weeks ago, but unfortunately, the radio doesn't do 3G here in Canada on the Rogers network.

Not sure why it worked in US on T-M, cuz I thought they were the same, technically...

Anyway, I also found it a bit slow and laggy to the touch. Also, there were problems working with my D-Link 655n wi-fi router as well.

I notified Pharos, and they have their engineers working on it.

BTW, it's manufactured by Inventec from China...

[ivolator]

This is a phone with great features, but BAD battery.
I have the phone for a month and I have to keep it plugged in
at all times. The most I get is 8hrs.
I keep it plugged in during the day at the office so I can have battery when I leave.
I keep it plugged in during night so it is up to ring the alarm.
Absolutely horrible battery.
Screen is very quirky and the phone is kid of slow. Some times it can't even ring like a normal phone. it just stutters.
Over all this is horrible phone. I'd go with any HTC phone instead this.
Pharos claims 200hrs standby time.... sure with a car battery may be.
I barely get 8hrs without using it at all ...
Not a good buy. Just waste of money.

[erickwill]

Anyone uses WM6.5 in Pharos, or knows about how to hack the original rom to cook a new one with WM6.5?

Thanks!

[lbendlin]

This is a phone with great features, but BAD battery.
I have the phone for a month and I have to keep it plugged in
at all times. The most I get is 8hrs.
I keep it plugged in during the day at the office so I can have battery when I leave.
I keep it plugged in during night so it is up to ring the alarm.
Absolutely horrible battery.
Screen is very quirky and the phone is kid of slow. Some times it can't even ring like a normal phone. it just stutters.
Over all this is horrible phone. I'd go with any HTC phone instead this.
Pharos claims 200hrs standby time.... sure with a car battery may be.
I barely get 8hrs without using it at all ...
Not a good buy. Just waste of money.

Exactly the opposite of what I am experiencing. Battery holds up ok-ish (about 36 hrs), screen is gorgeous (although only resistive) and the device is snappy enough to play h.264 videos at full resolution. Speaker is much better than on the 117.

T-Mo 3G actually works (I know, the horror) so there's basically no need to switch on WiFi.

The trackball was the deal maker for me. None of the HTC WinMo phones has that any more.