Pharos is showing off their newest Windows phone, the Pharos 565. It's a ruggedized Windows phone that meets Industrial IP54 standards (can survive drops from 4-5 feet).

The Pharos 565 claims to be the first rugged Windows Mobile 6.5 phone (the iMate 810 runs WM6.1) and sports a 3.5" 240x320 TFT touchscreen, 624mhz processor, 512mb ROM/256mb SDRAM as well as GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.  The 565 measures 5.7" (L) x 3.1" (W) x 1" (D) and is powered by a 1880mah battery.  No word on how hefty this phone is but it does have a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The tough Windows phone is listed for $529.95 (MSRP) on Pharos website.

Read: SlashGear.com

Stopped back by the Microsoft booth at CES after our recent encounter with Windows Mobile 6.5.3 on the Toshiba TG01, and, sure enough, there's more lurking around. The Pharos Traveler 137's got it (Build 28005.5.3.0). And right next door was the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2, and it had 6.5.3 as well, though it's so heavily skinned with the Panels interface that you can't tell at first glance.

Two more phones with possible upgrades on the way.

We saw the Pharos Traveler 137 clear the FCC a few weeks ago, and Matthew Miller of ZDNet (and our own Nokia Experts) gives the phone a run-through. The 137 is a GPS-centric Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional phone. It doesn't have any U.S. carrier support, so you're not likely to see them roaming the streets in packs. But you can pick one up between $500 and $600, so it's not out of reach if you're so inclined.

Check out Matthew's unboxing and initial hands-on above, and head on over to ZDNet for his initial write-up on the phone.

The Pharos Traveler 137 was announced a few months ago, and now the GPS-centric Windows Mobile phone has made its way through the FCC. The 137 has a custom "Smart Navigator" app that's pay-as-you-go, but you shouldn't be locked in to that. Windows 6.1 is on board, and it's not yet known if it will be upgraded to 6.5 in the fall.

The 137 is a quad-band GSM phone, but of particular note is that the 137 sports T-Mobile's 3G frequency. Does that mean we'll actually see it on T-Mo anytime soon? Tough to say. But if you manage to import one (and FCC acceptance means you can), then you should be able to rock some 1700Mhz 3G action. Or you could go the AT&T route and forget about 3G.

FCC listing [via wmpoweruser]

We've had our eye on the Pharos line of phones for a little while now, and it looks like the Traveler 117 has cleared the FCC. [via unwiredview]

This is a navigation-centric phone (thus the name), with aGPS on board. Other goodies:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro.
• 256 ROM/128 RAM. (Yeah, that's not that much these days.)
• 480x640 VGA touchscreen.
• Quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900); tri-band 3G (850/1900/2100)
• agps
• 2MP camera.
• WiFi.
• Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR.
• MicroSD.
• 2.5mm headphone jack.
• 1410mAh battery.

All in all, a decent little device. Hopefully we'll see more out of the Pharos line (and its cousin, Velocity Mobile) in the near future. You can get the Traveler 117 online now for $529.

In what is shaping up to be an active 2009 CES, Pharos has announced the Traveler 137 GPS Smartphone, which we first got wind of back in the fall and later recognized as a Velocity Mobile design.

The quad-band, Windows Mobile 6.1 based handset will have integrated GPS and navigation software. Expected to be available late in the first quarter of this year, the Traveler 137 distinguishes itself from other GPS enabled phones by not requiring a cellular signal to operate as a navigational device. Pharos uses its Smart Navigator software with the Traveler 137 for a "pay as you go" service.

The Traveler 137 comes with the standard Windows Mobile features including Bluetooth, WiFi, a 3-megapixel camera and as preloaded maps of the United States. Additional maps can be purchased through Pharos. The Traveler also has the ability to use Windows Live Search maps. The projected pricing for the Traveler 137 is $599.95.

[Read: CNET.com]

A week ago today we posted up this story about the Dell Pharos, confirming longstanding rumors that Dell was finally going to get back into the Windows Mobile game. Then, as Malatesta and I were discussing it during the WMExperts podcast last week, yours truly did a double-take.

See that there Velocity 117 on the left? Looks a might bit like the Velocity 111 on the right that we did a brief hands-on with at CTIA, don't it? Heck, some Engadget commenters suspect that the Pharos 127 is a prettified version of the Velocity 103 (though our money is on it being a prettified Velocity 301).

Either way, it's nice to see Velocity finally get some marketing oomph and it's equally nice to see Dell find a way to jump-start it's entry back into the WinMo landscape. All that being said, these devices don't exactly project the aura of absolute power that used to come with the Axim line.

Remember the Pharos, those GPS-centric things? It's OK. It's been a long while since we first got wind of one running Windows Mobile.

Fast-forward nine months, and a pair of devices — that's the 127 on the left, and the 117 on the right with its VGA screen — reportedly have been birthed on Dell's Web site, reports Engadget Mobile.

The links to the devices are down at the moment, so we have to go with Engadget's specs. We're reportedly looking at aGPS, WinMo 6.1 Pro and 2-MP cameras on the back, and VGAs on the front. They're also reporting tri-band 7.2Mbps speeds for data, which would just be blistering fast. We'll have to keep an eye on these.

Thanks to Patrick for the Tip!

So the HTC Pharos (though “Pharos” is just a code name, given that there's a GPS-Focues WM smartphone actually called Pharos out there) is making the rounds. It's nothing special - GPS is nice but that TI OMAP 200 MHz CPU is a bummer. That processor really needs to be put out to pasture. The HTC Pharos (or the P3470 if you're nasty) may not even have 3G for data or WiFi, meaning this thing is clearly meant for the low-end.

Who knows if and when it will hit production. If it does, who knows if it will get picked up by a US carrier. It does have a whiff of T-Mobile Wing about it, though, in both looks and under-powered-ness, doesn't it?

pcdebolso.com, via the::unwired