Doro's ridiculously simple phones in the wild

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 22nd 2007 at 9:05PM

We figure the market for these kinds of things only stands to get bigger as an ever-increasing percentage of folks realize that the only thing they're doing with their music-playing, picture-taking, internet-browsing handsets is making phone calls. England's Doromobile has a line of phones ripe to fit that bill, and Crave's UK outpost recently had the chance to check a couple of the latest models out. The HandleEasy 326gsm is the higher end of the two (though that's not saying much), featuring an honest-to-goodness monochrome display, four dedicated speed dial buttons, giant keys, and that's about it. The HandlePlus 324gsm foregoes the display -- and the numeric keypad, for that matter -- opting for five programmable speed dials (perfect for myFaves, hmm?). The 326gsm is available for £85 (about $175) while the 324gsm comes in at £68 ($140).

[Thanks, T.I.]

Filed under: Handsets, Others, GSM

Tags: 324gsm, 326gsm, doro, handleeasy, handleplus

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highly Ranked

lmjabreu @ Nov 22nd 2007 9:39PM

Those "A B C D" buttons are confusing me.

Highly Ranked

Martey @ Nov 22nd 2007 9:37PM

Why are they so expensive? You could easily get a used phone with the same features for cheaper.

Neutral

JonnyBruha @ Nov 22nd 2007 9:50PM

I bet these even have speed dialing...

Neutral

Ian @ Nov 23rd 2007 3:23AM

With the one on the right what happens if you need to dial a number with 6,7,8,9 in it?

Neutral

Carbonize @ Nov 23rd 2007 10:25AM

The numbers are not there for putting numbers in. As it CLEARLY states in the story the five keys are just there for speed dials which I assume you have to program in either via PC or some sort of key presses.

Neutral

john @ Nov 23rd 2007 3:52PM

carbonize: even so, you still need to enter 6,7,8,9, and 0 when entering the phone number itself. How do you go about doing THAT?

I bet it's something like quick push 1 for 1, slow push 1 for 6; quick push 2 for 2, slow push 2 for 7, etc. (ie. slow push button X for X, slow push button X for X+5).

Neutral

Mark Richardson @ Nov 22nd 2007 11:24PM

The completely numeric one is insanely stupid. These are geared toward old folks. If modern phones are too complicated for the elderly, how are they going to be able to memorize which number calls who? I'm in my 20s and I wouldn't even remember them.

Neutral

Carbonize @ Nov 23rd 2007 10:37AM

It has a phone book on the back according to the makers website.

Neutral

Corey Payne @ Nov 22nd 2007 11:43PM

Sooo...how WOULD you dial 911 on the one with 5 keys? Just sayin'...

Neutral

Carbonize @ Nov 23rd 2007 10:38AM

From the phones manual:

"When the telephone is switched on you can make emergency service calls by holding down [answer button] until a signalis heard (approx. 4 seconds). Most mobile networks accept emergency calls even if the SIM card is not in the telephone."

Neutral

Darkest Daze @ Nov 23rd 2007 12:30AM

this reminds me of those TV remotes and calculators with the insanely huge numbers that are made as gag gifts for peoples birthdays. You know, like "Over the Hill" stuff.

Neutral

wako @ Nov 23rd 2007 2:04AM

MAN! The price for these phones are ridiculous...

Prices for phones now a days are so expensive BECAUSE they have all these features. The phones that regressed back 20 years ago that are only able to make phone calls cost a hundred some dollars? That is ridiculous!

Neutral

wako @ Nov 23rd 2007 2:04AM

Neutral

john @ Nov 23rd 2007 3:49PM

re: Price: that's the price without a plan, right? That means that compared to other phones, they ARE cheap. I'd like to see the subsidised/with-contract prices.

As for feature sets ... do they have Bluetooth DUN and HSDPA/HSUPA? If so, I'd be all over the 5 button one. All I need is a bluetooth enabled internet gateway (like a GSM USB dongle, only with bluetooth and a battery). Put it on t-mobile with unlimited internet only, and I'd be golden.

(however, with no screen, I bet they didn't design them with internet capability ... but what I'm getting at is: that 5 button guy has market potential for something other than "really simple voice phone" -> "really simple internet modem")

Neutral

James @ Nov 24th 2007 4:29AM

you need to pre program the 5 numbers into the sim card. you do this by putting it in another phone and prefixing the stored numbers with 1,2,3,4,5 in the name field.
see here
http://dorophones.com/index.php?id=t-mobile_setup_doro_handleplus

Neutral

Ian @ Nov 23rd 2007 6:17PM

So they take a simple phone and make it more complicated than a normal phone at an expensive price. Where do I sign up?

Neutral

James @ Nov 24th 2007 8:16AM

Hey Ian, My grandfather tried to use my cell last week he couldn't press the buttons properly because they are too small let alone navigate the menus, these phones are a perfect solution for seniors-what could be simpler than pressing one button to dial? If that is complicated for you I'd be worried!

Web address is http://www.dorophones.com

Perfect gift I"m getting one for my grandfather

Neutral

James @ Nov 24th 2007 4:48AM

If you read the website for these phones its clear they are for seniors and people with disabilities. I don't think there are any phones available with such big buttons. These phones are just designed to be easy to use for everyone its so simple its brilliant.

Neutral

FRNCSC @ Nov 27th 2007 2:25PM

Perfect for blind people, seniors, people with disabilities... They need to be connected easily (press 1/A if you need to call home, press 2/B if you need to call emergency...). Anyone knows if it can be buyed as a "free" mobile for other countries? (for example Spain?), and how?. Thanks in advance.