Pharos 150 Drive 3.5-Inch Touchscreen TTS Portable GPS Unit, Blue
- Directions sometimes come too late.It generally works well. But in complicated place, it reacts a little late than expected, i.e., forks of highways around big cities.
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- Hardware Failed after about 1 Yr usedThe Pharos 150 I have took me to places fine ONLY if it started. And, most of the time on a clear sky, it sitll couldn't find the satelite signals. My friend and my brother who have this units got the same problem. We now tossed them to the corner and bought a better known-name ones. Good luck if you're having a Pharos brand.
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- A reasonably good product for a very cheap priceI have always used Iguidance+Pharos iGPS360 coupled to my PDA for GPS navigation. The combination although a bit clumsy worked out extremely well for me in last few years. But my PDA crashed recently and I decided that I should look for a simpler alternative. Which brings me to the point that I needed a GS unit with TTS capability under $100 (a difficult to achieve target). I found PDR 150 at amazon for $54 with free shipping. It seemed like a steal. The product arrived in good shape and worked right out of the box. I have give an F to the Pharos people because in 2009, they are still supplying the unit with 2006 maps. They claim that the maps are updated annually. It goes to show how much they care about keeping their customers happy and up to date. Well I decided to put the unit to test by going on a trip from LA to San Francisco. First glitch came at the point where I-5 separates from I-580. I was supposed to take I-580, but the unit seemed to insist that I needed to go further on I-5 before merging into I-580. But it realized its mistake immediately when I continued on I-5, there upon, instead of bringing me back to I-580, it insisted on taking some minor route into SF (which I ignored). I went back on I-5 and turned around to take I-580 and the unit managed to do well for rest of the way.
On the way back from SF, we decided to take PCH to Santa Cruz (where the unit does not help). But then we got stuck in Santa Cruz because of a road block and things went crazy. The unit had no clue what to do.. it took us round a block three times and then finally led us to US 101 but there it wanted me to make a left turn on the highway (unfortunately such left turns still exist) with vehicles zooming past me at 65 miles an hour. I decided to make a right turn and take the next exit so I could turn around. The unit did not like it either and kept insisting on taking me back to the same old place and make that dreaded left turn (even though the ramp to 101 was 0.2 miles away it insisted on making me drive ~10 miles on local roads). Finally when I got to 101 things settled and the unit realized where we were and then we were OK.
Needless to say that the route racalculation capability will benefit from a complete overhaul. May be when Pharos comes to release New maps (do not know when) they would have a newer algorithm for route recalculation built into the system.
I also tried the walking mode on teh GPS, the problem was that the unit constantly kept losing signal and I had to stand at a place for nearly 2 minuets until signal was locked only to find that I lost that signal again in half a block.
In conclusion, this unit is OK for a beginner but an advanced user would be better off going with a more sophisticated unit..
UPDATE: The unit originally came with 2006 maps. I had written to Pharos about outdated maps. They came out with "newer" maps sometime last year. What was wrong about it? They asked $40 for the updates. That sucks. First they make a GPS unit with outdated maps then they bilk you for updates. Moreover, it is only a map update not a software update. Destinator still stays at version 7. I would not recommend anyone to deal with Pharos or its products.
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- Never buy another Pharos productGot one from Amazon awhile back. Had to send in for warranty service recently due to the image distortion issue.
Without even open the box, Pharos' customer support claimed that was a reset button got broken because it was not clearly visible and asked for $40 to fix it. Given the fact that button was like that from day one, I thought it was designed that way, and I've been using it like that for almost a year without any problem, I didn't buy their excuse. But they wouldn't do anything else until after that button is fixed and they wouldn't fix it unless I pay them $40.
So beware, inspect your device and even if the reset button is slightly below the surface of the box, return it immediately or your warranty would be voided. Or even better, don't buy any Pharos device.
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- Piece of crap, don't bother!I bought this for my boyfriend for Christmas. He had been asking for a GPS for awhile after using my Garmin Nuvi 360(amazing GPS). I started looking into different brands because of the wide price difference figuring, hey, they all just give you directions, right? I was completely wrong, and I'm so sorry I bought this for him. It makes me feel guilty every time he tries to use it and it doesn't work.
I picked this particular one because it states that it: speaks street name, had POI's(points of interest), had a speed warning and a stylus. It sounded very similar to all my favorite garmin features. I didn't have unrealistic expectations -- for the price, I figured it won't be as nice looking or solid, but will get the job done. Lets just say you're lucky if it will get you 20 feet in the correct direction.
We live a few miles outside of Boston, but in a suburban area. No tall buildings here...just a nice clear view of the sky. No matter the time of day, weather or location, this thing very rarely got a signal and would just state "GPS signal, too low" over and over again. So I emailed Pharos and sent it in to be checked out. They sent it back, and it now will acquire a signal, after sitting in the car for 1/2 hour, without moving. If I'm driving, forget it. Maybe 45 minutes to get a signal. This is NOT how a GPS is suppose to work. My garmin takes about 1-2 minutes tops.
Besides that, its not user friendly. I am a tech addict, I can figure out how just about anything works and use it without a manual. I think the garmin brand is fantastic and can even be used by my mom, who can barely get online and go websurfing. I wish I had spent the extra 40-50 bucks to get my boyfriend the garmin. I get confused and annoyed trying to navigate the Pharos screens. Also the points of interest are useless.
I took this unit out yesterday to test it after getting it back from Pharos, supposedly fixed. After waiting 45 minutes for a signal, I plugged in stores in my town to see if they would come up. Nothing. They were giving me stores in Connecticut(I'm in MA). I tried both ways of having it search for "grocery stores" around me, or just typing in "shaw's", it gave me a Shaw's 40 miles from me when I know there is one about 1/2 a mile down the street. Points of interest is my favorite feature of the garmin, that I can be an hour from my house in an unknown place and find a target or walmart.
When I complained to Pharos that it still is not working correctly(or at all), they told me to "plug it in to a power source, and let it sit in an unmoving car for 4-5 minutes to aquire a signal". So, the walking gps part of this is clearly useless, since you can't be plugged in to power and taking a walking tour while you're perhaps on vacation, which is a feature that is offered by the main menu of this unit.
Take the plunge and put a few extra bucks towards a good brand GPS, buying a cheapo unit like the pharos will only leave you frustrated and feeling ripped off. I've been seeing nice Garmin units that speak the street names(which was one of my must criteria) for 120-150.
