doro
Latest
Doro PhoneEasy 740 smartphone hands-on at MWC 2012
Don't recognize the name? If so, it's probably because Doro is a completely new player in the smartphone industry, as it doesn't necessarily quench the appetite of power users. The vendor primarily focuses on providing the elderly with simple handsets, which in the past equated to offering nothing but feature phones. Doro's got a few new tricks up its sleeve which may be the most ridiculously easy transition from old-school to new-school yet. Their creation, with a title nearly as simple as the device itself, is called the PhoneEasy 740. It's a phone running essentially a forked Android OS with an incredibly user-friendly launcher -- called the Doro Experience -- that consists of only a few major functions, such as phone, messages, email and pictures. As for the handset itself, you're looking at a meager spec sheet: 5MP rear camera, 3.2-inch HVGA shooter, four hours of continuous talk time, FM radio, 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal memory. The software itself isn't fully functional yet, so we were only able to scroll through the main menu. We're anticipating the device to be ready in time for a summer release in markets around the world.Speaking of the Doro Experience, the UI's going to be available on tablets this spring as an optional Android launcher. Fortunately the software can be paired with a desktop-specific app -- the Doro Experience Manager -- that gives the user the ability to remotely customize and manage the device. This is actually quite ideal, due to the fact that it's not limited to a proprietary Doro-made tablet. We haven't heard details on pricing and availability, but we'll get that information as it comes in. For now, anyone intrigued by the idea should hightail it to our gallery below.
Doro rolls out five new mega-simple handsets
Easily missed amidst the bright lights, festivities, and OLED displays of Mobile World Congress last month was Doro, which makes a handful of ultra (and we mean ultra) basic phones targeting seniors, young'uns, and pretty much anyone else who can't be bothered with actual... you know, "features." Turns out the Swedish company used the occasion to launch not one, not two, but fully five new models, including its first flip -- the 410gsm -- which is apparently a form factor that Doro's customers have been specifically requesting. Also in the mix is the insanely straightforward 334gsm, which foregoes a keypad in favor of speed dial buttons, and three other candybars, the 338gsm, 342gsm, and 345gsm, which are evolutions of the company's older 330gsm design. All five will launch to market in the next six months. [Via Shiny Shiny]
Doro brings immensely simplistic phones to the US via Centennial Wireless
Now that the baby boomer generation is booming louder than ever and the geriatric set is quickly growing larger, Doro is hoping to grow its market share by coming to the States. A mainstay in the European market, the company focuses on producing overly simplistic mobiles that ditch cutting edge features in favor of easy-to-use interfaces. The GSM-compatible HandleEasy 330gsm and HandleEasy 326i gsm have arrived on US soil courtesy of Centennial Wireless, and both should be the easiest phone you've ever had the opportunity to use. Unfortunately, there's no mention of a price for either, but we can't imagine 'em being too pricey.
Doro's ridiculously simple phones in the wild
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.]
