Customer Reviews
Good enough for me :) 
2008-07-03
I must admit I had my reservations purchasing this item, as the Pharos brand is not as well known as some of the others, and I could only find few comprehensive reviews on the unit. However, I simply could not argue with all the features that were being offered for such a low price... so I took the chance, and I am glad that I did. The performance was peppy, LCD was bright and easy to read, text-to-speech was clear, GPS tracking functioned smoothly as expected, the interface was reasonable intuitive. The point of interest and the maps seemed a little outdated, but the customer support told me that a new version should be available early next year on their website, free of charge.
All in all, although it may lack the "sophistication" in build/software quality of the bigger companies, I'm very happy with my purchase.
Good for the price. 
2008-06-24
I like simple but powerful devices -- as this one. I really have nothing to complain if this one uses some different operation styles from other GPSs. Get used to its own style and you will find it easy to use. The only true shortcomings I have found -- some simple functions that it really should have -- are:
1. no way to know how much power is left in the battery.
2. no way to adjust the time & date.
Exiting at first, now.....not really 2008-05-13
Pros: cheap for a unit with TTS, clear voice, good map, more streets details than Gamin, some people might not like.
Cons: Take awhile to get signal from cold start. Very poor POI
Using this for few months now. At first was very happy. Got signal very quick after cold start. Now taking awhile to get, but after initial start, later gets signal is quick. In general, hate it when first start, like it when running. I used to turn it on and car at same time for warming up then do my things. I would rate it 3.5 if I could.
Very good, but not as easy as some units 2008-05-04
I've used this daily for 3 weeks now. I previously have only used a bottom line Garmin (I2- Back and white, no touch screen, no text to speech). The Pharos is a step up in many ways (color, faster, spoken street names, larger screen) BUT, Garmin's experience in this field shows: While the Pharos is color and larger, it was still easier to see the Garmin screen, especially in bright sun. The auto-night dimming on the Pharos works poorly, way too bright. And even though the Garmin didn't have a touch screen, it was not really more difficult to enter the destination info.
The volume adjustment is difficult to adjust near the louder end of the scale. It is difficult to touch in street names with my finger (medium sized man) though easy with the stylus. The points of interest are much more cumbersome. For instance if you are driving and want the closest McDonalds you have to punch in a bunch of info, then you only get a list accurate to the closest mile. The Garmin easily gave a list and the list automatically updated as I drove.
Anyway, at $100 this is a great deal, and very usable, just not as easy to use as I'd hoped. I bought it because my Garmin broke, otherwise I'd still be using that. Oh, BTW, I don't find the spoken street names much better than the Garmin's "turn right in one tenth mile", though lots of users seem to think spoken street names are a big plus.
Also not well thought out is the power handling. When I turn off the engine, the unit stays fully on, so if you don't want the internal battery to run down you have to manually turn the unit off then manually turn it on when you start, not a big deal, but the unit should go to sleep automatically when you turn off your engine.
Frustrating start, but seems to have ended well 
2008-03-28
UPDATE: Pharos came through after the second replacement. A rep called me when they received my return, and a replacement was shipped to me via UPS Next Day service. It turns out, the SD card had come loose, but there was no way I could have known that because Pharos puts a security sticker over the card slot, and if you remove it, it voids your warranty. At any rate, this third unit seems to work perfectly.
If my first problem had been handled as efficiently as the second, I would have been a much happier customer from the start. If I could revise my star ratings, I'd probably up it to 4 stars. Had I received better service, I wouldn't have hesitated to give it 5 stars.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: I had such high hopes for the Pharos 150, but I guess the bottom line is, you get what you pay for.
When I first purchased the unit a few months ago, I tried it out near my home in Maryland, as well as in Miami, Orlando and San Francisco. In Miami, I sat in the rental car lot for 15 minutes waiting for it to lock on to a satellite, and that experience kept repeating itself in other cities.
In fairness, when the unit was functioning, I was very pleased with how well it worked, especially for the price. But, I soon realized that it was generally so slow to find a satellite that it was essentially useless. Who has time to wait 10-15 minutes prior to every trip?
Frustrated, I contacted Pharos support, and they had me send the unit to them in California (at my expense). A replacement GPS came a few weeks later, and it worked when I first turned it on. Then, later in the day, I attempted to use it again, and with every attempt to power up, the initial logo screen would freeze. The on/off button would not turn it off. Pressing the reset button would turn off the screen, but did nothing else in terms of making the unit functional.
I once again called Pharos support (and waited nearly 30 minutes to speak with someone), and they informed me I would have to send this unit back, too, and once again, at my expense. I protested, telling them that while I understood it was my responsibility to pay to return the first unit, I didn't think I should have to pay for returning the second one because the replacement they sent me was obviously defective. The agent said he would speak with his manager to see if something could be done and call me back later in the day.
He did call back, but only to inform there was nothing else that could be done, and if I wanted to have the defective unit replaced, I would have to send it back at my expense. I asked him how many times I would be responsible for paying for returning defective units, and he didn't have an answer.
So, I'm boxing up GPS #2 and will wait another 2-3 weeks with the hope of getting one that works.
All I can say is, if you're shopping for a GPS, look elsewhere. I don't expect perfection, but I do expect a company to take some responsibility for the shortcomings of their products. I didn't mind paying to send back the first defective unit, but Pharos should have been willing to offer some sort of accommodation when the second unit also proved to be defective. I, for one, won't be a repeat customer.
A bargain 2008-07-19
A very versatile gps tool, with potential beyond its advertised capabilities. a very functional interface. It could be improved with additional map resources and upgradability, but its well worth the price as is.
OK for the price 
2008-07-17
I paid $70 after the $30 Amazon card deal so I can't complain too much. I like the text-to-speech function. That and the price is probably the pros I can say about this unit.
Here are the cons:
* Takes forever to get a signal. Sometimes up to 7 or 8 minutes.
* The mount is terrible. Very difficult to take the unit out.
* My unit does not give a warning when the battery is low. It just shuts the unit off.
* Battery life is TERRIBLE. I get about 1 1/2 hrs.
* I had to reset it twice in the past 10 usage.
But I can live with it since I got it for cheap.
great GPS 2008-07-17
This was a wonderful purchase-it is everything I wanted in a GPS. Very easy to use even for a female. The price was great. Love it and would recommend for all.
Bad Start-Good Finish Thanks To Amazon 2008-07-09
I took a chance and ordered this GPS even though I didn't recognize the name, because of the reviews here. I am in outside construction sales and travel all of Central Virginia and many times off the beaten path as you can imagine. Although I carry a laptop with MSN Streets & Trips loaded on it I really wanted a GPS especially with "text to speech" so I could keep my eyes on the road. I am an Amazon Prime member and as usual Amazon had this at my door the next day. Much to my disappointment, though it would never get a gps signal. I waited for hours and it never happened. I finally called Pharos customer support and after trying a reset and waiting it still said "no GPS antenna found". Kudos to their cs as they answered quickly and suggested I wait for a return shipping label to come and then send it to them at their expense. Though they were helpful, I contacted Amazon and asked to return it for exchange and they had a new one here this morning. I plugged it in and boy what fun, quick start up and extremely accurate. Made my day a whole lot easier. The 150 is a great unit so far and Amazon once again made a potentially bad situation good!
A good budget unit 2008-07-05
This is a good budget GPS. I used it to discover a couple of short cuts to work already. I modified it to support calculator, notepad, photo viewer, word/excel/ppt/pdf viewers, and mp3/video players, etc. in additional to the Destinator GPS program (Thanks daniel53 and others). It's a very nice toy especially for tech-savvy users (5 stars for being able to modify it).
The user interface may not be super intuitive as some high-priced units.
BTW, make sure to try the "avoid roads" feature under the "Manage Route." You can create one or more sets of roads to avoid (or not to avoid).
If Pharos can provide free map updates, as the previous reviewer mentioned, then I'll give it a 6-star rating. :-)
