Sum ‘n’ Substance:

Thumbs up: Attractive touch screen, equipped with navigation software and maps, offers 3G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and also sports a 5-megapixel camera.

Thumbs down: The navigation is not precise and the smartphone also suffers from lag.

Inside the trunk: Installed RAM of 256 MB; Installed ROM of 512 MB Flash; 3.5 inch flush touch-screen WVGA display; tri-band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE cellular modems; 7.2Mb/s download and 2Mb/s upload speeds; autofocus 3.1Megapixel camera along with geotagging, 0.3Megapixel front camera for video conference; built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, FM tuner, G-sensor for auto screen rotation; intelligent landscape keyboard; Battery installed: Lithium ion; weighs in at 4.9 ounces.

The Whiz- kid speaks: The Pharos Traveler 137 is just a revamped version of the 127. With additional features such as 5-megapixel camera along with it a full touch screen (perfect for reading maps) as well as faster processor and more memory, 3G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. But much like the Traveler 127, the 137 was lethargic, and had a tough time pin-pointing desired locations. It was really difficult to justify the Traveler 137 for being priced at $600 when there were plenty of important unresolved issues from the 127.

Razzle-dazzle: The Traveler 137 has one heck of a display which measures 3.5 inches diagonally. It displays 65,000 colors at a resolution of 480×800-pixel which is very sharp. Pictures, icons and text were crystal-clear, crisp and vivid on the screen, plus the large display definitely made it easier to view maps compared to the Traveler 127. The touchscreen was hands-down the show-stopper. The construction was pretty rugged but overall design was slick and neat. The rear had a smooth and flowing finish. The device measures 4.6 inches in height by 2.4 inches wide and 0.5 thick and weighs around 4.9 ounces, that ought to keep your pocket full.

Inside dope: The Pharos comes along with the Spb Mobile Shell 3.0, which contains information in a more user-friendly and attractive interface. The Spb mobile has three sliding panels : the center panel and default home screen, feature the calendar, messages, time, weather, etc. while sliding the touch screen to the left, brings up an Application panel, while the right panel offers your multimedia features. At the bottom of all panels, you get a one-touch access to a favorites page, contact list, a few other settings, as well as a button that lets you scroll through more panels in a 3D round-about view.

The Pharos Traveler 137 features an onscreen portrait and landscape QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard is a bit stuffed in the portrait mode, but the included stylus can be used for more precision.

The traveler 137 features a built-in accelerometer or a G-sensor which automatically switches from portrait to landscape mode when you turn the phone around. But the accelerometer wasn’t up to the mark, because the screen used to hang midway through the transition and sometimes it was way too sensitive, which was very irritating. The varying performance needs to be worked on, desperately.

Although the touch screen will be the preferred choice usage–wise, the traveler 137 has provided some navigation controls below the display, like the Talk and End/Home keys, a Start menu shortcut, an OK button, and a trackball navigator.

To the left the mini USB port has the dual function of a power connector and a headset jack, the volume knob and the camera capture button is on the right, while the power button is at the top. Finally, the camera is on the back while the microSD expansion slot is located behind the battery cover. The positioning of the expansion slot is awkward because you have to remove the entire battery itself in order to swap out the cards.

The Traveler 137 put up a very poor fight in the performance front. When testing the quad-band using T-Mobile service, there was sizeable noise present, due to which the call- quality suffered but the 3G was able to get good coverage in the city.

The 137 also has issues while performing simple functions in spite of having a processor and memory (256MB SDRAM, 512MB Flash ROM) more powerful than the Traveler 127.

When we hit the road, the GPS found our location within a matter of minutes and accurately tracked our movements but on certain occasions it was looking confused, which can be quite troublesome if you’re in a hurry.

The Pharos Traveler 137 has a 1380mAh lithium ion battery with a talk time of 7 hours, 5 hours on 3G and up to 8 days of standby time.

Nitty- gritty: The Pharos Traveler 137 has got quite some moves, but it suffers a lot on the performance front. The 137 would make a very irritating piece of equipment for everyday use and it is also carries a hefty price tag of $600. If you’re still thinking of getting one these, you can go right ahead, that is, if you do not value your money and you’ve a peanut for a brain. We may expect a ‘147’from Pharos which will be the updated 137 and 127 but I wonder if they will look in to their past flaws and that ridiculous price-tag. If Pharos can make the improvements in performance, the company could simply eat its rivals alive.

Popularity: 7% [?]