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Doro PhoneEasy 520X Review

Sections

Verdict

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Pros

  • Easy to use menu system
  • Large keypad buttons
  • Emergency assist and ICE feature
  • Loud audio

Cons

  • Lacks any internet features
  • Poor camera

Key Specifications

  • Review Price: £104.00
  • Louder than normal earpiece
  • Emergency assist button
  • Charging cradle
  • Bluetooth support

What is the Doro PhoneEasy 520X?

The Doro PhoneEasy 520X is primarily aimed at older people who may struggle to get to grips with today’s feature packed smartphones. It’s a simple phone with easy to read menus and large buttons, but it has a few extra interesting features. You can currently buy it online for a little bit over £100 SIM Free.

Doro PhoneEasy 520X 2Doro PhoneEasy 520X mobile phone with large buttons.

Doro PhoneEasy 520X – Design

The 530X looks not too dissimilar to some of Nokia’s basic handsets. It has a traditional candy bar design with the screen at the top and keypad sitting beneath. However, the buttons on the keypad are a good deal larger than usual and slightly raised to make them easier to press. The keypad also has dedicated keys for the camera, SMS feature. Interestingl, this model has a torch function built-in, so there’s a dedicated torch button on the right hand edge of the phone.

Doro PhoneEasy 520X 6Doro PhoneEasy 520X mobile phone back view.

In the past Doro’s phones have often felt a bit plasticky and look old fashioned, but the light brown metallic effect used on the top and rear of this handset, as well as the rounded edges, give the 520X a more contemporary feel. Doro has also toughened this phone up compared to its other models, so it’s dust, shock and splash proof. There’s also a chunky, rotating lock switch on the back to seal in the battery once it’s in place, so it doesn’t pop out if the phone is dropped.

Doro PhoneEasy 520X – Screen

The screen on the Doro PhoneEasy 520X can’t compete with the large high-resolution displays on today’s smartphones, but then we wouldn’t really expect it to. It’s fairly small, measuring 2-inches across the diagonal, but it’s large enough for making calls and sending messages. It’s also very bright and easy to read.

Doro PhoneEasy 520X – Interface and Usability

The Doro PhoneEasy 520X has a very basic user interface. The menu is a series of pages that you scroll up and down through using the arrow buttons directly beneath the display. Each page shows a single icon for stuff like the phone book, settings and messaging menus, so it’s easy to pick up and use even if you’re not a very technically minded user.

Doro PhoneEasy 520XClose-up of Doro PhoneEasy 520X keypad and screen.

We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.

Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.

Used as our main phone for the review period

Reviewed using respected industry benchmarks and real world testing

Always has a SIM card installed

Tested with phone calls, games and popular apps

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