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Whistle Stopper - Pharos 150 Drive 3.5-Inch Touchscreen TTS Portable GPS Unit, Black
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List Price: $149.99
Our Price: $99.99
Your Save: $ 50.00 ( 33% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Pharos
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Batteries Included: 1
Binding: Electronics
Brand: Pharos
Color: Black
Display Size: 3.5
EAN: 0818948002525
Feature: Large 3.5" TFT LCD with 16.7 million colors
Includes Mp3 Player: 1
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: Pharos
Manufacturer: Pharos
Model: PDR150
Native Resolution: 320 x 240
Publisher: Pharos
Studio: Pharos
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Features
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Large 3.5" TFT LCD with 16.7 million colors
Fast route calculation by 32-bit CPU processor
Text-To-Speech; turn-by-turn directions with voice prompts announcing the street name
Entire US maps; NAVTEQ ON BOARD
Built-in ultra sensitive 20-channel SiRFStarII GPS for fast and accurate positioning
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Would not purchase again...
Comment: I purchased this product and it stop working after the second day of use.
Also I found that it's was very user friendly in comparison to Garmin products... I would not buy this again...
Customer Rating:
Summary: OK but with problems
Comment: My summary is that it is OK for the price but don't expect too much. Don't read on if you don't want a lot of details.
Pros: 3D Graphics and low cost text to speech
Cons: Very poor routing, very old maps, no way to easily upgrade maps or customize look and feel
Details:
I have had a number of GPS devices from PC based to Cell Phone based to stand alone. The first one of these PDR150s I received took up to 30 minues to acquire a satellite and then dropped them frequently (while driving). I returned that for a replacement and the new one acquires satellites quite quickly. So it is up to current technology as far as I can tell.
Quality: Seems OK except for their initial quality control that resulted in a bad one initially. Feels solid. The downside is it is based on Windows CE so it has the standard Windows CE instability problems. For example, one of the most exasperating problems with GPS devices is waiting for them to lock in on the satellites. This unit does that reasonably quickly but, for some reason, this information frequently does not get passed to the mapping program. For example, currently the unit has locked onto 5 satellites but the mapping program is still "waiting for GPS signal". I suspect this is a WinCE problem but that isn't clear.
Maps: Very old maps and mine has US only - not even Canada. When I contacted Pharos they told me that they just buy map data from someone else (Navteq I think) so they seem to have no concern about the fact that they are way out of date.
Routing: Very poor. It will probably get you there but in a very peculiar path. OK for out of town maybe. I was less then a mile from my home and it was directing me to go 5-10 miles out of my way to get there. Worst I have ever seen in GPS devices
Graphics: Very good 3D graphics and autozoom for driving guidance. One of the better graphics for describing complex intersections that I have found.
Text to speech: Surprisingly good function for the price.
Route calculation: Very fast but not very good routing. Maybe the 2 are connected.
Charger: Standard mini-USB so it can use Motorola and Blackberry chargers - cuts down on the number of chargers required for travel.
Mounting hardware: Very poor mounting hardware included - it comes with a window suction mount with extremely limited flexibility. Usable if you aren't too concerned about visibility or where the display actually ends up.
Usability: Aside from the typical user unfriendliness of most GPS devices (for example you have to go through 3 menu choices just to cancel the route), this has the added complication of not providing any good way to create favorites on a simpler to use device (PC for example) and transferring them to the device. It does sync through active sync so if you use Outlook address book, that might work OK. I don't so haven't evaulated it. Also backing up your addresses is not straight forward and the user manual (that is all that comes on the CD with the device) is of no value. If you are used to Windows CE and ActiveSync, then you can quickly figure this out. If not, it is non-obvious. You have to connect to the PC using ActiveSync and then explore to the SD card, find the user data folder, then back that up to your PC.
Strange quirks: It has one really odd quirk. I set my measurements to US (miles/tenths of a mile). So on the driving display, it displays everything in those units - including altitude. Altitude in miles is basically useless. On the screen that shows the satellite data, however, altitude is displayed in feet.
Other: Since it is Windows CE it is hackable and there are lots of instructions by very smart folks in various forums to help you do this. I've tried some that include various viewers (movie/picture/pdf) and they work. Of course there is no I/O capability so some of these functions have limited value. The unit also comes with a sticker across the SD card slot informing you that if you break the seal, the warranty is void so that also limits interest in some cases.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great GPS for the price
Comment: I got it new for $[...] on Amazon. $[...] bill me later discount and $[...] rebate.This is a great deal. Build quality is very good. Unit is sturdy. Its map version is old- It has 2006 quarter 4 maps. But I did not face any issues with navigation even in the country side. I observed that its directions matches with the google directions.Battery life good. Mine last for 4 hours if the unit is just left on.Its user interface/font look and feel could have been better.Voice prompts are clear but could have been little louder.Included stylus helps.I was able to locate the ATMs even in a small and remote county.Other than this I did not use its POI features. Overall its a great Unit for the price- even if you don't use its hacking capability. I had borrowed Garmin 360 from my friend earlier. My driving experience with both the units is same.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great GPS!!!
Comment: The Pharos 150 is simple and inexpensive unit. It is easy to use and get to where I want to go.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing
Comment: I guess you get what you pay for. The map database is quite outdated for central Texas Pharos doesn't plan an update until late 08' or early 09. The stored points of interest don't contain the most common or prevalent retail, commercial or recreational destinations. It is intuitive and easy to use, but that's because the destination options are limited. It will get you to an exact address or you can point on the map for an approx location. But often the quickest or shortest routes selected are not practical, quite often ignoring freeways altogether. Can't imagine where all the good reviews came from but I am sincerely disappointed.
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Editorial Reviews:
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The Pharos Drive GPS 150 makes it easy to keep your eyes on the road when looking for a specific address with voice prompts and turn-by-turn spoken instructions that include name of the street or highway (Text-to-Speech technology). The large 3.5" color touch screen LCD clearly displays the preloaded U.S. street level maps and navigation routing.preferences in mind.
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