Smartphone Review

BY: Jen Edwards, Brighthand.com Contributor
The Pharos Traveler 127 may look like a BlackBerry at first glance, but it’s a Windows Mobile Professional smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity (in addition to GPRS), and a built-in GPS that can ensure that you never get lost, even if you don’t have phone coverage.

It’s a little larger than some of the mobile phones available today, but it packs in a lot of features that may make the trade-off worthwhile. Unfortunately it isn’t available directly from any carrier, and is currently being sold as an unlocked GSM smartphone for $530 — though you can get it from eXpansys for $480.
Build and Design
No matter what other issues the Traveler 127 may have, the device is very well made and exceptionally solid, though surprisingly lightweight for it size.

The design is somewhat boxy, with the corners being only slightly rounded at the top and bottom. The phone isn’t ugly, but it isn’t sexy–it’s obviously meant to be a productivity tool for a mobile professional, with no added frills.

The exterior case has been finished with a “soft touch” feel that is comfortable to hold and doesn’t catch fingerprints and smudges. That also means that the phone isn’t slippery at all, and feels good in the hand. It’s about as wide a device as is comfortable to use with one hand, unless you’re manipulating the power switch. This is a slider at the top left edge of the phone, and it’s a real pain to use.

Waking and sleeping the device are a quick slide of the button, which I can do with one hand, reaching up with my index finger. Turning the device on or off is a two-handed operation though, because you have to hold the switch for several seconds and the ridges on the switch tend to dig in a big painfully. I’d rather hold the phone with one hand and then use the edge of my fingernail to slide and hold the switch.

You must remove the back plate of the phone in order to access the microSD slot. It isn’t that hard to do, but this design choice does make trying to use multiple cards something of a hassle, It would likely be best to invest in the highest capacity card you can afford. Read More »

BY: Ed Hardy, Brighthand.com Editor

The HTC Touch Pro2 is an upcoming high-end Windows Mobile smartphone with a large, WVGA touchscreen and a sliding keyboard. It’s scheduled to debut this summer, but HTC is already showing it off though, and I recorded a video overview of it, and also put together some first impressions after using this model for a short time.

Read More »