Doro 8200 Smartphone Review

DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.

Reviewed by Helen Wyatt

I recently received a Doro 8200 Smartphone to review, which I passed to my Mum’s partner (officially a “senior”, who this phone is designed for!) to have a go with it and give me his honest thoughts. I’ve shared those below!

First Impressions

I received the phone and must admit to being a bit apprehensive as I wasn’t the smartest mobile phone user.  On opening the box, it was easy to see that simplicity was the key word – phone, charger, charger cable, plug and instructions – good start so far.  Also included were a couple of leaflets, one on the Doro Response System, contact addresses, and a guarantee to replace the screen if it breaks in the first 12 months – again, good start so far.

The instructions with the phone are classified as a ‘Quick Start Guide’ and are very clear and easy to follow but obviously the first thing to do was read the enclosed guide.  It might be me, but I much preferred to view more detailed instructions on-line on my laptop with the phone close to hand.

You will need a Sim card to fully use/explore all the phone’s capabilities, including making calls and texts.  I actually just swapped my old Sim over from my old phone, which worked without any problems.  I didn’t really need to use the Doro Wizard but thought I would give it a try and it was brilliant, very very easy to use, and clear instructions, concisely put with a minimum of technical bumpf.  The phone has now been set up and all I need to do is add in any apps or additional contact numbers I need.

If you have used a smartphone before you will find this model very easy to set up and the set-up guide is so straightforward to use – I managed it very easily.

The first thing I noticed was the feel of the phone – fairly light, and thankfully a textured back to help you hang on to the handset.  My current phone is like a block of ice to hold as it is extremely shiny on both sides, and a case was a necessity. Some of the main features of the phone were what attracted me to this model in the first place – a very clear home screen, larger to view icons if required and as I wear hearing aids this phone has a special ‘sound system’ which helps using the phone in noisy situations.  It works extremely well in restaurants for example which have a lot of background noise.

It has also a very clever device called an Assistance button.  I know that for several people this would have been a godsend – basically a button on the back of the phone that when pressed, automatically connects you to friends or family should you require help of any kind – you just set up the contact numbers and that’s it.  One button to push and no dialling!

You have the option to use an external memory card which fits in next to the Sim card.  It gives extra memory and I could see it being very useful to store your photographs for example.  At first glance the phone seems to be more than adequate for most photo opportunities.  It also has a Macro setting for taking really close-up shots.  I only used the camera a few times but it produced excellent results.  It also speeds up backing your photos up on your computer.  You can still back up your photos on Google but I found synchronising them to automatically back up on the computer very tiresome!

The more detailed manual which I opened on my computer again is really easy to read and follow instructions.  It really is the next step after the Quick Set-Up and gives you the easiest option to really explore and personalise your phone.

One of the Doro applications, which is a program called EVA, is a purpose-designed program to help people navigate the phone’s various applications and it would seem to be a very simple system to use.

The charging cradle is a brilliant idea, and you can leave it charging but still have access to the phone easily enough.  It can also be plugged into your computer on a mains USB port if you prefer.

Overall, I am very impressed with the following: the amazing clarity of the screen (I haven’t as yet taken the protective film off!), the ease of use, and more importantly, the simplicity of the instructions received in the Quick Start guide and the full manual.

The phone has a reasonably-sized screen, adjustable size icons and is very comfortable and pleasant to hold.  I’m sure that even younger users would be very happy with this phone.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £270

This product can be purchased from Doro here.