BUT ...
We have new Doro 8030 phones running Android. Doro and O2 have a deal with selling these phones for about £100 plus a £10 O2 SIM card top up. Luckily Giffgaff SIM cards also work in the phones - which offer more savings through their PAYG tariffs and Goodybag deals whilst running on the O2 network.
However after a few weeks the main issue and con with these Android phones is:
1/ When a call is disconnected or cuts out - perhaps the recipient is on a train going through a tunnel - the calling phone does not disconnect but invokes the recipient's voicemail. This frequently involves a charge (of 8p with Gifgaff) to retrieve what is essentially a silent voicemail lasting from 2 to 4 minutes. On one day I got 15 such calls from someone trying to call me but with a poor connection that kept cutting out. Apparently this is a design fault of smart phones - they are too smart for their owners' good. But Giffgaff (and other telcos) must be coining it with this scam.
Other issues are:
2/ For an incoming call the 'Accept Call' button sometimes does not respond, the phone (or its OS) seems to be busy doing other things; then the call goes into the recipient's voicemail.
3/ When a call comes in the phone rings for a very short while before the voicemail kicks in - there does not seem to be an option to lengthen this period.
Voice-mail is handled entirely by the carrier, GiffGaff. and not the phone. If you want to avoid whatever they're gouging you for it, turn it off, don't use their voice-mail. Any dropped calls then,
would just drop and not divert to voice-mail. Some carriers have options on their voice-mail services about when to divert calls, but you'd have to check with GiffGaff for that.
To lengthen the period that it rings before it goes to voice-mail, again you'd have to check with GiffGaff for that.
GiffGaff are a cut-price MVNO,
but they will nickel and dime you for every little extra they can. I don't get charged for voice-mail, but that's China Unicom and NOT available in the UK. Usually when I'm in the UK I use Lebara, because it's really cheap to call China with them, but they might be expensive for other things, like voice-mail.
4/ Sometimees the 'mobile data' switch spontaneously switches itself on - whilst this is not too much of an issue in the UK or EU, it could be expensive when overseas.
Data shouldn't usually be turning itself on,
perhaps it's a feature of this particular phone? And you shouldn't get charged while overseas, unless you
specifically turn data roaming ON, the default usually is OFF.
5/ O2 seems to charge £1 per internet connection through the mobile data option - this meant that the introductory £10 top up with an O2 SIM did not last long enough to test out the phone. The O2 SIM was quickly swapped for a Giffgaff SIM.
6/ When the phone was purchased at O2 (incl. the compulsory O2 SIM with a £10 top up) the charging rates were not given to us; and they changed a few days afterwards - again without any details.
7/ Even though the automatic update option is switched *off* the phone and the apps still automatically update whenever wifi is switched on.
Check ALL automatic app updates are turned off, for WiFi and cellular data.
8/ The battery frequently does not last more than 12 hours; even after being fully charged overnight, and even though nothing appears to be running in the background.
CJB
OK, some phones just don't have the best battery life in the world,
and it's only a 2000mAh battery in the Doro anyway. I usually get 24 hours or more with an Oppo, 4100mAh battery, and that's with heavy usage, I guess the Doro is a Chinese device, probably made by a company like TCL or Coolpad.
