Doro PhoneEasy 618

 

The good: The Doro PhoneEasy 618 is extremely user-friendly, has a handful of useful tools, and an external display.

The bad: The PhoneEasy 618's flush keypad can be hard to press and battery life was disappointing.

The bottom line: Designed with seniors in mind, the Doro PhoneEasy 618's not only an affordable buy, but it also includes a few extras without skipping over the essentials.

Doro, a phone manufacturer that tailors its products to seniors, told me recently that designing a senior device isn't as easy as it looks. In addition to a strong call performance, the handset also has to be user-friendly both in its physical design and user interface.
But if its newest feature phone, the Doro PhoneEasy 618, is any indication, Doro is doing a great job at providing simple and comfortable devices for seniors.
Not only is PhoneEasy 618 equipped with many of the basics you'd expect from any phone, but it also has a handful of useful tools that allow you or your loved one access to important information and emergency services. Priced at $60, the device will be available online on December 10 and at select retail stores on January 2013.
Design
A lot of thought goes into designing senior phones, and the Doro PhoneEasy 618 shines at being comfortable and easy to use. Its plastic build makes it light (4.05 ounces), without it feeling too fragile.
When closed, the device measures 4.02 inches tall and 2.09 inches wide. At nearly an inch thick (0.91 inch, to be exact), it will be a snug fit inside small front jean pockets. But its compact clamshell body will stow away easily in purses and back pockets.

When closed, the PhoneEasy 618's profile measures almost an inch thick.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

On the left there are a Micro-USB port and a 2.5mm headset jack. To the right is a rubber volume rocker, with plus and minus icons to easily distinguish which button increases or decreases volume. At the bottom are two prongs for docking an optional charging cradle.
On the front of the handset is a 3.2-megapixel camera. To the right of the lens are a camera flash (that doubles as a flashlight) and an LED notification light. This flashes either red (when it's charging or when the battery is low) or green (whenever you get a new message or miss a call). There's also an external display that shows information like the time or the number of an incoming call.
The back houses a large emergency call button that you can program to call one number after you click it three times quickly. To the right is an audio speaker. The back plate is coated with a rubbery material, which provides a bit more resistance toward slick surfaces. To remove the plate, press on it and slide downward. Once off, you can access the phone's 900mAh battery, SIM card, and MicroSD card slot.
The closing mechanism for the PhoneEasy 618 is snappy and sturdy. It takes more than a light flick to whip it open or shut it closed. Once opened, you can see the 2.375-inch screen. Oddly, there's a thin black bezel around the display that thickens at the bottom. Because it's just blank space (and the Doro logo at the bottom), it would've been better to extend the entire scope of the screen to these edges. Above the display is an ear speaker.
All the buttons, including the alphanumeric keypad, are generously sized and have a grippy rubber texture. However, they're flush with the surface of the device, which makes them difficult to press sometimes. Above the number keys are four buttons for your top three contacts and text messaging. Above that row are the call and end-call buttons, with two navigational arrows nestled between. Three more buttons are above that for the left selection, camera, and right selection.
On all the buttons, you need to press the very center of the keys to get them to register. This isn't a problem since most of the keys can be covered by your whole finger -- except the call and end-call buttons. These two are the largest keys, and there were times when I'd press just a part of these keys and they wouldn't do anything. Only when I moved my finger to the very center did they work. Though it's not much of a bother, it's something to keep in mind.

A better look at the Doro PhoneEasy 618 (pictures)

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Software features and OS
The handset includes 12 features in its menu, but instead of showing all or a group of items in one screen, you'll need to scroll through each option individually. The phone book holds up to 300 contacts. Each contact can have multiple numbers for mobile, work, and home, and you can assign gallery photos to them.
Other menu features include messages, a call log, a camera (more on that later), a photo gallery or image viewer, an alarm (which can only save one alarm time), and an organizer where you can access a calendar or a daily reminder feature that alerts you for important tasks. In addition there's a calculator, an FM radio, a flashlight, and an icon called ICE for in cases of emergency. Here you can store pertinent medical details like your birthdate, height, weight, insurance info, important contacts, your doctor's number, any listed conditions, allergies, medications, or vaccinations, and your blood type.

The PhoneEasy 618's user interface is extremely simple and easy to navigate.