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The Doro 8030 Android SmartPhone measures 14.6x7x.9cm and weighs 141 grams. The viewable screen is 10x5.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial screen measurement of 4½ inches.
Start-up is 51 seconds and shutdown is 14 seconds.
Even though this is chunky in comparison to most standard SmartPhones it does feel solid in the hand.
Going around the outside finds the charge point on the right side with a dedicated camera button towards the base of the right side. The left side has the volume rocker and below this the on/off button. On the top towards the left is a 3.5mm socket for headphones. The back has the camera mounted in the centre near the top, below this the emergency button and near the bottom the speaker.
Remove the back - a finger nail inserted under the bottom right corner – and once the battery is removed then you have access to the Micro Sim and any Micro SD card you might use.
The front screen displays nine white circles with a different coloured icon showing in them and for clarity what they do is shown in white just below each circle.
They are Call, View, Send, Search, Add, Snap, Discover, Listen and Set.
The weather can be quite important for anyone with certain disabilities but without Google Play Services installed it will not show and to install Google Play Services you need to add a Google account, while it tells you all this you still need a Google account to make this function.
Like all Doro phones once you have added, removed or changed something a nice big ‘Saved’ icon is displayed.
It has Android 5.1 and can be a 4G phone.
A big thing with all Doro phones is the ability to enable those with limited sight or hearing to be able to communicate. A friend of mine is very deaf and he in fact started a web site ‘Deaf not Stupid’ which I think says it all he always uses a Doro Phone. For those with sight problems the background and foreground colours are important and perhaps even the mix of colours.
Having Bluetooth on a phone is also important not just to relay music as an able bodied user might use it but for other purposes as well.
While a lot of recent phones put the touch element onto the screen with the Back, Home and Open Buttons Doro still place these buttons below the screen with black images on grey backgrounds. This could perhaps cause a problem in the pocket of the user as the phone could be activated by movement.
In the box is a basic Getting Started Guide – a full PDF guide is available – a set of earbuds, a charge cable, a USB plug front and a charge dock.
If the charge dock is setup by the bed you are less likely to forget to charge your phone and of course it can be used as an Alarm Clock it can also be used as a standard large display clock.
For anyone who has moved beyond the basic Doro phone this will be easy to use as their basic features are still inside. For anyone who finds a standard SmartPhone is becoming beyond them then possibly this Doro offering could be the answer.
The Doro 8030 SmartPhone is available from Amazon for £129.95 with free delivery.
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