Pharos unveils the Traveler 137, unlocked GPS-centric Windows Mobile smartphone
Pharos announced on Tuesday the latest addition to its fledgling line of GPS smartphones. The Traveler 137 will be an unlocked Windows Mobile professional smartphone that offers 3G connectivity on both AT&T and T-Mobile. That’s right, T-Mobile finally gets some 3G love from a carrier-independent handset! The Traveler 137 boasts an impressive set of specs that include:
- 3.5″ 800×480 touchscreen with 65,000 colors
- Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528MHz528 MHz processor
- Unlocked quad band GSM850/900/1800/1900 MHz,EDGE/GPRS and Tri-band 3G, 1700/1900/2100 MHz, UMTS 384Kb/s, HSDPA 7.2Mb/s, HSUPA 2Mb/s
- 256MB DDR SDRAM, 512MB Flash ROM
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
- aGPS with Pharos Smart Navigator software
- Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR
- FM radio
- Dual cameras: 3MP on the back and VGA on the front
- 256 Mb RAM/ 512 MB ROM
- MicroSD expansion (up to 16 GB)
- Stereo audio jack
- Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
- Battery : 1380 mAh battery, 4 hours of talk time
- Dimensions : 4.6″ x 2.4″ x 0.51″
- Weight : 4.9 oz
The Traveler 137 includes Pharos Smart Traveler software that provides full-featured GPS navigation with turn-by-turn voice directions, real-time traffic, POI search and a Follow Me feature allowing others to track your GPS location over the Internet or via another Windows Mobile smartphone. All this and no monthly fees! The navigation software also features a unique hybrid system that downloads maps when cellular coverage is strong and caches them for use when cellular coverage is weak or non-existent. The phone ships with support for US maps and other maps are available on a pay-as-you-go basis. Currently, maps are available for Canada, Western Europe and Eastern Europe on a daily ($1.99/day), weekly ($4.99/week), monthly ($6.99/month) or yearly basis ($49.99/year), with future support expected for China, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and beyond. Last but not least, the Traveler 137 comes preloaded with a touch screen keyboard, SPB Mobile Shell with touch-based user interface, Microsoft Office Mobile suite, built-in Media Player and Live Search. The Traveler 137 will be available late in Q1 2009 from major retailers for a suggested price of $599.95.
Tags: CES, GPS, Pharos, Smartphone, touchscreen, Traveler 137, Windows Mobile
Finally an unlocked AWS (1700) phone for T-Mobile users. The price is rather high though.
Permalink | Reply
it has nice specs. 599 isnt too bad for an off contract phone especially for t-mobile users who have very little 3G supported unlocked handsets
Permalink | Reply
Even without the AWS-support, this thing seems like a beast! Although I would think a WVGA screen would support more colors than 65k. And what’s up with the Windows high contrast color scheme on the navigation software??
Permalink | Reply
The 65K color is a WM5/6 limitation and hopefully it will be gone when WM7 is released.
I would scrap that Smart Navigator and get Garmin XT or TomTom 7.
Permalink | Reply
Wish it supported Band V. :/
Permalink | Reply
That screenshot looks hideous, I hope that’s just the Graphics Dept.’s fault! And you guys give VZ Navigator a hard time…
Permalink | Reply
Yea this phone is a beast but I have to agree with VZ guy…the pic is terrible.
Permalink | Reply
two things, they forgot the 850 mhz band for AT&T 3G and it sure looks a lot like a Touch HD. Same screen size and resolution, same processor, very similar physical size. Wouldn’t be shocked to find out they made it for them and probably the reason that they did not come out with a US version of the Touch HD
Permalink | Reply
this thing is a beast… i only have one wish for it to have a dual sim slot. then i could use both AT&T and T-Mobile at the same time piggy backing on two family plans and only costing me $20 month. LOL
Permalink | Reply
Does anyone know/think if it would be possible to tether a laptop to use the 3G?
Permalink | Reply
Tethering should be possible I would think. It’s a standard feature in 6.1 pro. That’s what I’m waiting for: a phone on Tmobile that can get 3g speeds, as well as direct push and internet sharing. This one looks good. Can’t wait until it’s up for sale in the US
Permalink | Reply
is that a regular stereo headphone jack like HD and Experia? or is it proprietary weird connector junk?
Permalink | Reply
($1.99/day), weekly ($4.99/week), monthly ($6.99/month) or yearly basis ($49.99/year)
WTF is that all about. So yes you have a stand alone GPS that you do not have to pay your carrier 10$/month to run but you do not have maps. Thank you Pharos for adding another small money sucker to my budget. At least with the Blackjack II you could pay just the 25$/month for internet and you could use Googlemaps for “free.”
So lets see if you have 25$/month for internet and another 17$/month for maps (God that sounds so stupid) plus your calling plan of at least 50$/month plus taxes $10 (low ball estimate, I know) = $100 a month for a phone
Just look at the 17$/month. For 6 months of their map service you could get a decent $100 GPS.
Permalink | Reply
How about unlimited phone and internet service for $79.95 and I can show you how to get this phone at a discount.
Permalink | Reply
Thanks Jessica but go peddle your phone service elsewhere. It is salespeople like you who just amaze me. Didn’t I just say that paying $1200/year for just one little item in your life is way too much?
$79.95 plus what? Plus $10 tax, plus maps 17$. It comes out more than even my estimate.
Yes you can afford it but why would you want to pay it? Think back when you had a mobile phone without internet and GPS. Were you really that helpless?
Paying an extra 30, 40 even 50 $/month for worthless conveniences is just plain waste.
Some CEO or director is laughing at you while he rides around in his private jet.
Permalink | Reply