“Doro Phone Easy 341gsm”

Posted: 30 Jul 2010 07:32 AM PDT

You can do plenty of clever things with smartphones such as Apple's iPhone such as take pictures and view websites.

But for anyone who just wants a mobile phone to make and receive calls, these extras only make the handset more complicated to use - and they reduce the battery life. Doro's Phone Easy 341gsm ignores such fancy features, and instead performs a few things well. It is simple to use, with very large and clearly labelled buttons. The screen is black and white, and small, but the handset itself is large.

It's slightly different from the last Doro phone we reviewed, the Handle Easy 326gsm. That phone couldn't send or receive text messages, but this new model can. The old phone had four buttons at the top labelled A,B,C and D that were used to quickly dial contacts, but these have been replaced with a combination of up and down buttons for navigating through menus and a phone book.

It has many other basic functions such as an alarm and calculator, but if you wish even these can be disabled. With a limited handset such as this, the call quality is even more important than usual, and our test calls sounded good.

On the back is an emergency button, which can be used to quickly contact friends or family members for help. When pressed for 3 seconds, or twice in quick succession, it plays a loud alarm, then sends a text message to every phone number that has been added to a special list of emergency contacts, then finally calls the first number in the list, with the phone set to speakerphone.

This is an excellent idea, which could even save a life, although it cannot be solely relied upon, as the user must first remember to press the button to activate it. While the Phone Easy 341gsm isn't going to appeal to anyone who wants a phone that can perform all the latest tricks, there are plenty who don't.

Every one of the Phone Easy 341gsm's features works extremely well, it's simple to use and is a great choice for anyone who wants a phone for calls and messages, and nothing more.

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