Pharos Traveler 137 Review

DESIGN & BUILD

The Traveler 137 has a traditional slate form factor. The 3.5-inch, 800-by-480-pixel (WVGA) touchscreen dominates the front.

Below the display are four application buttons (call, Windows key, OK/close, and end) and a trackball. The trackball works both as a directional pad and a mouse. And depending on the application (for example the browser) it can do one or both functions as needed.

The rest of the device is essentially a case of minimalism: the sides with dimpled volume and camera buttons; the top with a power/lock button; and the rear with a 3.1 MPx camera.

Overall, the design is simple and sleek. The 137 does sit a little long and heavy in the hands, but the glass screen and silver accents makes it look the part of a classy device. The trackball is an eye catcher as well, as many expect to only see it on BlackBerry devices. On the 137, it stands out and invites questions comparing the 137 to the BB Storm and other trackball-equipped devices.

Display
I mentioned the WVGA touchscreen earlier. I've been using higher-than-normal resolution devices for a while now, and I've not noticed the difference as much with Windows Mobile as I have with Symbian and other platforms. While the colors are solid, and fonts smoother; there's not much optimization in how some of the applications use the space. For most parts of the OS, the fonts and icons are just larger. Fitting more information into the screen is more a product of individual applications rather than re-flowing content to a different DPI.

But friends of mine who have mobiles with lower resolution and quality screens were much more impressed. Even some who own iPhone/iPod Touch devices remarked about the screen.

It's different, but I don't see it as so much better because its not as optimized. In addition, there are some problems with use that I bring up in the Performance Section.