The mobile phone goes back to basics

Pros: Simplicity itself to use; large buttons; easy memory function

Cons: No text messaging; fiddly power plug; small screen icons

Bottomline: A simple phone, great for those who only want to talk

Price: £100

Manufacturer: Doro

---

Modern mobile phones can do some amazing things.

Take Apple’s much-hyped iPhone, for example – it can surf the web, display Youtube videos, send and receive emails and take photos.

All this clever technology does have a downside, though – it can get in the way if you only want to make and receive phone calls.

Doro’s Handle Easy, though, is a modern phone with a difference. For starters, it’s large – at least twice the size of some other mobile phones.

This makes room for the buttons, which are extremely large. Each number button is approximately 1cm square.

There are only six other buttons on the top of the phone: one to make a call, one to hang up, and four memory buttons labelled A, B, C and D.

The Handle Easy does away with most of the functions included with modern phones. It can’t surf the web, can’t take photos and can’t even send text messages.

There’s no phone book to store names and numbers – instead it can store four numbers in the large memory buttons, and 50 other numbers in a menu. The memory buttons are extremely easy to use, as you need only hold one down for a few seconds to start the call.

A few other key mobile phone functions are included. Holding down the # key for a few seconds switches the phone to a silent vibrating alert and back again, and it is even possible to choose between a selection of ringing tones. Holding the star button locks the phone keypad so it won’t dial accidentally when in a bag.

We did have a few complaints about the Handle Easy, though. For one, the charger plug is fairly small and needs to be inserted the right way – this can make plugging the phone in fiddly. Also, some of the icons shown on screen could be larger and clearer.

Nonetheless, these are fairly minor complaints. Available for just £100 on a pay-as-you go phone service, this is an excellent phone that many will find easy to use.