Venerable specialty smart device manufacturer Pharos has announced its newest device with a ruggedized bodyshell in the 565.
The 565 will be the first smart device manufactured by the company to be classified under the IP54 standard for measuring shock and impact resistance from a specified height, with resistance to shock and impact up to a maximum of 5 feet.
Unsurprisingly, the company also claims that the 565 is also the first ruggedized smart device to ship with Windows Phone 6.5 and is also bundled with Office Mobile Suite.
The featureset for the device is also nearly complete, with a 3.5 inch resistive touch display at QVGA resolution, QWERTY keyboard, 624 MHz Marvell PXA310 processor, 512 MB of ROM, 256 MB of RAM, microSD expansion slot Wi-Fi radio, Bluetooth with stereo audio support and GPS support via built-in transceiver.
In a nod to those that need such connectivity in particular situations, the device also features IrDA (infrared), RAW IR/SIR support and serial RS-232 connectivity along with a built-in USB port
Pricing for the device is set at $529.95.
All the Pharos phones run Microsoft’s Windows Phone Classic operating system (formerly called Windows Mobile).
I worry that this operating system is now at end-of-life stage, due to Microsoft announcing its new Series 7 phone platform, which is more aimed at consumers and requires different software.
I hope that Pharos releases some Android products soon, as some of its competitors in the ruggedized market have been moving towards Android.
It’s interesting that Microsoft approved this device. Until now they have refused to offer Windows Mobile 6.5 Classic, though I suspect that was largely due to a lack of interest more than anything else.
Which is yet another failure of Windows Mobile… had Microsoft coded a good music player application (please don’t try to argue WMP is good at that), PMP manufacturers won’t be flocking to Android by default.