Customer Reviews

Pharos 250 Drive 4.3-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If Pharos offered a better website with updates available for this unit, I would give it 5 stars. The slightly computerized voice does not know how to pronounce many street names so they sound strange. Screen is beautiful and mapping seems more accurate than my Garmin I-3. (But the Garmin has a much better voice). I have used GPS units of various types for about 15 years and this is the best so far for the price. You can test a route before you set out, in real time, to see how accurate it is... nice feature. Adding addresses to the address book is cumbersome and after many hours of playing with the unit, I still have not figured out how to save addresses easily. That is really the only big negative, but considering all the features and accuracy of routing, it is a keeper. It has Navteq maps and they tend to be quite accurate.

It's a nice unit especially with the black piano finish and the bright, clear 4.3" screen. The window mount is very strong but does require a little effort to lock it in place. The pronounciation of some streets was irritating since they were wrong. I got a great deal from Dell, if I get my rebate, but I sold it because of several different reasons. Here is a breakdown of the good and the bad.

Good:
Nice finish
Large 4.3" screen that is vibrant
Maps of the entire 50 US states and Canada
Long life battery
Both car and home chargers
Cloth carrying case

Bad:
Somewhat difficult to use, at least some of the functions
Adapter hole on the left side of the unit
Doesn't show speed, distance, next street/road that you need to turn on, at the same time. It also doesn't show the road that you are on and where you will go on the same screen.

Nice unit but not what I wanted.

After considering the Garmin Nuvi and Magellan Maestro, I decided that I didn't need the extra features like Bluetooth, mp3 player, FM transmitters, etc. I have taken the Pharos 250 with me on several trips now, and it does a fine job of getting me to my destination.
FYI, the Pharos 250 is exactly like the Pharos 150, except that it has a bigger screen

PROS

-very quick satellite detection: even on a cloudy day, it doesn't take more than 2 minutes to get a signal, avg time is less than a minute
-good rerouting features
-I can set my unit to automatically switch to night mode at 7pm, which makes for better viewing at nighttime
-standby mode allows me to power up really quickly
-good volume, I can hear the instructions quite clearly
-comes with a pouch for the unit, USB cable, windshield mount, car charger

CONS

-limited points of interest: It doesn't know where to find the nearest Target or McDonalds
-mechanical voice mispronounces street names
-poor global map view: whenever I want to zoom out all the way to get an overview of the city, the Pharos 250 doesn't display the major street names. I never had that problem with my friend's Garmin
-I initially did have trouble dismounting the unit from the windshield mount, but I found that if you remove it from the bottom edge first, and then pull down from the top edge, you would have an easier time removing it.

It was a nice gps the first year. The second year, the maps started to get a little out of date. I talked to customer service at Pharos, they said they would let me know. A woman named Natalie said that new maps would be released at the end of the year (2007) or beginning of the next year. It is now 2009, and they are still saying the end of the year, or beginning of next. To be completely fair, I bought the maps for my old Garmin. They cost 75 bucks, and were never updated either. At least they are available though. Hardware is good, a little slow with Windows mobile. Good GPS as long as it is used in locations that do not have new construction going on. If they are building in your area, expect to make do with whatever maps come with the unit..

I decided to wait a while before I gave this item a review, so I could see how it really holds up over time. I've had it for a little over 2 years now and it's still going strong. I'm so glad I didn't listen to the bad reviews on this product before I purchased it, because I would have missed out on a great GPS. I'm rating this based on the value for the price. I know there are bigger and better, but you just can't beat the value for the price. I'm upset I listened to all the people who said you couldn't get updated maps for this, because I waited a year before actually calling and finding out that they DO have updated maps. You can't find that info out online, you have to call. Their customer service was great. I purchased the updated map for around $30 and received the CD by mail within the week. The updates are MUCH better. We use it in an area where a lot of road work has been done, so the older version that came with it was a bit confusing, but the new updates captured the new streets and it has been easier navigating around. The screen is a nice size, colorful and easy to navigate. Yes - the voice does mispronounce street names sometimes, but it doesn't bother me - I can easily look on the screen and see it in writing.

Great value for the price!

Bought this a couple of years ago during a big sale at Dell. Worked fairly well, but some routings are a bit strange. Now even in the small town I live in, roads are being built that do not show on the GPS map. No problem, just update the map. The problem is that Pharos has never offered any updated maps, and has been telling customers that the updates are "coming at the end of the year, or the beginning of the next". It has been at least 3 years that the have been selling this excuse.
My recommendation is that you buy from another manufacturer.

The POI is too little to find any useful place, I even cannot Walmart just 3 miles away.
Slow speed.
ugly interface.
Bad customer service.

conclusion, you can find every bad aspect of GPS in this product!!!!