I received this as a gift recently; it's the second Pharos GPS system I've had some contact with.
Compared with the Secure Digital model, this unit is much faster locking onto the satellites (never taken more than 10-20 seconds to lock on, where the SD model could take minutes), and the unit rarely loses lock during travel. Additionally, this kit includes a charging cable that not only powers the GPS receiver portion (required unless you get either the Bluetooth adaptor with battery or the CF Card adaptor), but also powers the PocketPC, not only saving battery life but also preventing the unit from turning off mid-drive when you don't touch the screen every few minutes!
Ostia, the Pocket PC-based mapping software included, is pretty decent and easy to use, but it's only updated annually, and has some deficiencies in the northern Virginia area I live and work in. For instance, several street names are misspelled, and while the Points of Interest for Maryland, Washington DC, and northern Virginia has two listings for the Baltimore Ravens stadium, there's not one for the Washington Redskins stadium (whose address is also misspelled, it's FedEx not Fedeex).
On-the-fly routing is pretty fast and accurate, and the ability to find things like restaurants in the vicinity is very helpful.
In addition to the typos on some streets, there's some other idiosyncracies to learn. For instance, when looking up intersections or addresses, you often have to know an area name, rather than a city/town name. And while the integration with the Pocket PC's Contacts list allows you to find routes to contacts, it apparently only reads/accesses the Home Address, so business contacts can't be routed to. On the other hand, I don't know the home addresses of too many of my business contacts, so putting their work address in the home address slot fixes this issue easily.
I'll agree partially with the reviewers who complained that they bought the item based on the Amazon product name and picture, only to find they didn't include a handheld PC. Where I agree is that Amazon should rewrite the product name (it's not how the manufacturer describes it on their website at http://www.pharosgps.com/products/hp/iPAQ5450/PK032.htm), and should also have a disclaimer (just like Pharos does on the box) that the Pocket PC is not included. Where I disagree is that you have to keep in mind that Pocket PCs cost over $200 by themselves; adding a GPS receiver, car charger, and mapping software onto it and expecting it to be under $200 still isn't very realistic. The bad ratings below should have been complaints to Amazon about the advertising, not a bad rating for the product itself. |
"Read all of the description"
"Pharos Pocket GPS"