Review: Doro Phone Easy 615

By Mike Wheeler

Let’s get a couple of things straight from the get-go about the Swedish mobile phone Doro – it is not aimed at me, or any Gen Xer, or Y for that matter. It is designed for the older generation – ie our mums and dads who are about to hit retirement, are a little unsure about technology, but still realise the value in having a communication device like a mobile handset.

First surprise for me was its size. I had seen pictures of the unit but didn’t expect it to be so small. Not that this is a bad thing as it fits nice and snug in the hand, and is unobtrusive to carry around, which in turn means it fits nicely into a pocket or purse. It is off the clamshell design, so is quite thick.

There is no touchscreen but navigation is easy via two buttons whereby you push the left-hand one at the top of the keypad to go forward with key commands such as “options”, “add”, “ok” etc, while the adjacent right-hand key lets you go back to the previous screen.

I used Optus’s 3G network to make calls and there were no dramas as there were no drop out issues. Listening to others while making calls was fine as we had nice crisp and clear voices.

As well as making calls, it does the obvious things like texting. It also can Bluetooth to devices, and the ability to listen to FM radio, as well as a 3 megapixel camera, which offers red-eye reduction.

The battery life was pretty good, lasting just over a day with a reasonable amount of use. It was also left on standby for six days and still fired up with just under a quarter of the cell still charged.

At its most basic, well, it’s basic! Nothing too scary under the hood for older folk, while those of the younger generation will probably take a pass.

Pros: Easy to use, good for seniors; light
Cons: Feels a bit flimsy

4.1 Shacks Out Of 5

RRP
Varies with plans