Doro HandleEasy 330gsm: Less is more

The terms 'easy-to-use' and 'mobile phone' should go hand-in-hand, but they rarely do. We're regularly driven to tears when in a phone comes in boasting more features than Inspector Gadget's trenchcoat, but requires a forensic decoding of the instruction manual just to send a text message. Thank heavens for the Doro HandleEasy 330gsm.

Doro has been busy making easy-to-use mobile phones for some time now and the HandleEasy 330gsm is its latest handset. Aimed squarely at users who don't need or want the frills, the 330gsm is a tribute to simple design. The keys are large and give great mechanical feedback -- you really know when they've been pressed -- and its features are functional rather than frustrating.

You can use the 330gsm to make calls and send and receive text messages, there's a hands-free option over a loudspeaker, a safety alarm just in case you get into any bother and an LED torch, which is particularly useful for finding keyholes in the dark. It's available in black or white. We've spent a few days with the 330gsm and it is indeed a simple phone.

All of that said, it's not entirely perfect. To navigate the menu, you have to use a scroll wheel on the right-hand side. It's easy enough if you've used something like that before, but potentially fiddly if you haven't. The charging port is also a little on the small side.

If you're thinking about buying a Doro HandleEasy 330gsm, you can get one direct from Doro online for about £140 on pay as you go, which is very expensive for what it is, but understandable given that they are almost specialist products. We hope with increased interest in the Doro range, prices will fall soon. -Andrew Lim