Product: Handle Easy 328gsm
Supplier: Doro
Web: www.doro-uk.com
Price: From £85.00 PAYG to £123.00 SIM Free

"ALL I WANT is a mobile phone that just makes calls," is a familiar refrain. With this in mind we take a look at the Handle Easy 328gsm from Doro.

This handset is mostly sold unlocked or pay-as-you-go (PAYG) in high street stores and will work on any UK network besides 3.

The most important point about the 328gsm is that it is fairly and squarely aimed at that last bunch of handset recidivists who stalwartly refuse to own a mobile phone. The elderly, of course.

Logic dictates that such a phone requires not only big, easily readable keys but also a large font size on the screen. The 328gsm delivers just that. Mature folk will be able to use this handset without delving for their glasses.

Unfortunately, the end result is a mobile phone that looks like a giant calculator. Conversely, being so big [5 x 2.24x 0.5 inches], it's going to be much harder to misplace this handset han a regular one.

The major snag with the 328gsm, however, is the user interface. The phone sports very few control keys which, in theory, should make operation very easy.

Sadly, it also meant that the INQ was forced to request a copy of the handbook for this loan phone just to be able to use some very basic functions.

One of those functions was reading stored text messages. The good news is that this particular phone offers text receive only functionality.

That's right. As its owner, you don't have to worry about making excuses as to why you cannot send a text message. With the 328gsm it's impossible to create a text message because that function is missing entirely.

So there's no worries about struggling with T9 predictive texting because you can't even create a simple reply. You can call the sender, though.

A nice touch is that the handset sports four large buttons directly under the screen which are labelled A to D. These are quick dial buttons.

Hence it is possible to store the number for your closest neighbour against the A button and the 328gsm will connect you with just one keypress.

All the user has to do is hold the correct key down and the handset will dial a pre-set number for the owner's son or daughter, for example. There's even a built-in loudspeaker so the handset can be used in hands-free mode very easily.

The ringtones are all suitable jolly and appropriate for potential 328gsm owners. No rude messages or drum&bass jingles for these people.

Doro is actually a Swedish company which prides itself on design so the 328gsm is made of sturdy materials although, naturally, it is actually manufactured in China.

The bottom line is that the Handle Easy is actually neither intuitive nor very easy to operate initially.

The device is let down by a side-mounted 'menu' button which requires the appropriate number of key presses to take its owner to the desired function.

The INQ would argue that it would have been better to use a couple of extra 'dedicated' buttons instead. One for reading text messages and the other for looking up numbers in the addressbook, for example.

Despite our criticism, the INQ predicts that loads of grandparents are going to wake up on December 25^th and find a Handle Easy phone in their Xmas stocking.

After all, there are virtually no viable alternatives on the market. µ

The Good
Keys and screen are easily readable

The Bad
Looks like a giant calculator

The Ugly
Initial set-up and operation require the manual

Bartender's verdict