Doro Liberto 820 review

Build Quality

I tested the Doro Liberto 820 in white and I have to say that this colour scheme, with black and chrome highlights, has a premium look and feel about it. In fact I would go as far to say that it is one of the best looking smartphones that I have tested in the last 12 months.

On the front we find a large 4.5” display with a high-definition resolution of 940 x 560 pixels. I was taken aback by the brightness, colour vibrancy and clarity of the screen which has cleverly been protected against damage by having been inset by a millimeter or two from the surrounding casing.

There is a soft touch coating which makes the Liberto 820 pleasant to hold and there are three very handy rubberised actions buttons sitting just below the display. On the side we find the power button and volume rocker button as well as a dedicated camera button that can be used to access the camera quickly or to activate the shutter.

This smartphone is very light at just 132g and the build incorporates a MicroSD card slot for expanding the memory should you wish to store hundreds of videos and photos on the phone as opposed to transferring them to your computer. There is also a quad-core 1.3GHz processor which simply means that you will enjoy delay free operation, fast web browsing and stunning game play, if that is your kind of thing.

Phone Set Up

The phone set up is an extremely easy process and you can use the startup guide to accomplish this. The Doro Liberto 820 is highly customisable with the option to choose how many icons are displayed on the home screens.

Next you can connect this smartphone to your home Wi-Fi network if you have one, decide if you want the phone to connect to the internet over a mobile phone network or restrict this to just Wi-Fi. After this you get a prompt to use the Discover Me option which activates the Discovery Guide where you can learn all you need to know in order to get the most out of your new smartphone.

Further user assistance is always on hand with a Remote Help facility where an operator can take control of your device to diagnose a problem. 

After following through the setup process I discovered the home screen which holds space for your three most used features as well quick links to Google apps and the menu, which can also be accessed by swiping from right to left. Above the three feature buttons there are three vacant spaces where you can place either your most important contacts or other features for easy access to them.

My Doro Manager was the next setup feature I explored and this will possibly be one of the most important features for those using a smartphone for the first time. The Doro Manager lets you setup friends or family as helpers. These helpers can then help you change settings in the phone, setup the Assistance Button and share content with you like apps, contacts and photos.You can also help yourself by watching the video tutorials that are housed here.

The final setup stages included storing five contacts for the Assistance Button which once pressed automatically calls these numbers in sequence until one is answered as well as sending out an emergency assistance SMS with your GPS position. The ICE (In Case of Emergency) feature is also included for you to store in your medications, health conditions, doctors details and other information that would assist first responders.

Features

The Doro Liberto 820 is powered by the Android KitKat v4.4 operating system but this has been simplified with Doro’s interface which is clear and extremely easy to get to grips with. The main benefit of Android is that you can visit the Google app store to download new applications such as tools, games, catch-up TV players and apps for just about anything else you may want to do.
 
HD Voice gives you the clearest call quality and the Liberto 820 is hearing aid compatible as well. A full set of connectivity options are built-in and these include 3G internet access, Wi-Fi internet access, GPS for location and navigation services and Bluetooth for connecting wireless accessories. 

Typing emails and text is easy with the SwiftKey keyboard that learns your typing style and predicts the next word for you. You can tap the letters or slide your finger from one letter to the next and the redesign option lets you resize the keyboard, choose a colour theme and even change the layout of the keys. Of course you could always use the SwiftKey Voice Input option and forget typing altogether!

Everything else you would expect from a smartphone is included, with the clutter removed, such as a Weather app, music and video playing apps, games and Google services such a Search, Voice Search, Gmail and YouTube. 

I should mention here just how the good the speaker is for playing music. The audio output is probably the loudest I have enjoyed on a smartphone over the last year and the quality was simply perfect from treble to bass.

Camera & Video

The 8 megapixel camera is definitely a big plus for this smartphone and the high resolution really does mean that you can leave your compact digital camera at home.

The layout of the viewfinder, which lets you change settings and shooting mode, is one of the best I have seen and with panorama mode and night mode among others, all of your photographic needs will be met,

Video can be recorded at 720p HD and you can easily share your photos via email, text or social media straight from the gallery. A secondary forward facing camera is also in place to handle selfies or video calling on services such as Skype.

Battery Life

The 1,900mAh battery lasted throughout my testing day under heavy usage and should provide a very long standby time for those who use their smartphone less frequently.

A charging cradle is included in the box and this allows you to position the phone like a standard home phone. In addition to this there is a Micro-USB port on the top edge of the phone and I love that this keeps the cables out of the way if you are charging the phone or transferring files and photos using your computer or laptop.

Final Verdict: I am wholly impressed with Doro and the Liberto 820. It perfectly meets the needs of a phone that can raise the alarm in case of an emergency whilst satisfying the desire for smartphone features that rival any other smartphone, but delivered in a much clearer way. I can honestly say that if I was using the Liberto 820 for work and personal uses that I wouldn’t be disappointed at all. This is clearly the best phone that Doro has ever made. 

Written by: Michael Brown