We have an abundance of smartphones to pick from today however when it comes to phones for the older generation there is not so much out there and we have a huge demographic here too with the older population and the market potential is huge here for manufacturers to tap and emporia have a range of mobiles to just do that.
Ok so we have Doro which we do not see much of anymore and Nokia who recently released some detox phones which keeps things simple but emporia have gone about it in a different way which makes like much easier for the older generation who now want access to smartphones but with the current offerings out there they are to complex or be it a sales person will try shove an iPhone down your neck. First look at the walkthrough below and see what we are dealing with.
To start you get everything in the box including really good user guides and you also have tutorials on the device, The phone has a light skin on top with a tiled effect which reminds you of Windows Phone plus you have access to the play store too and here is how it differs from your standard Android experience with no convoluted mess or sub menus or having someone look for a feature buried in a sub menu and simplicity is key here as well as the big tiled visual approach.
Build quality and looks are typical however it is a sturdy device and feels solid in my opinion it does have bezels all round which is a step away from the current trend but it is not a phone to make a statement with and is well balanced and in line with low to mid tier devices on the overall look.
The phone is not a powerhouse but mid tier with a decent camera and video function that will do fine for the target market but is no way near flagship but this is not a flagship device but a device to make life easy, I did try load some heavy apps on this to see if they would buckle the device and they did some would not even open but for the likes of social media,email general browsing and a few apps you will be fine with a full days battery too, Again this would depend on user.
The menu layout is really simple to follow and again you have a really good user guide included in the box should you have issues or check the video above for more, On the top you have a battery status indicator and a settings wheel with a notch effect and your signal bar then you have a big wallpaper box which can be changed and you four shortcuts and of course these can be changed to whatever suits you best.
Swiping to the right gives you four contact spaces again tiled and an option for your own number and to finish off that page you have a voicemail and emergency contact tile which is where you place what number suits you best and this is complemented by a button on the rear of the phone to call someone quickly in an emergency. Swiping to the left gives you a list of apps and again you can change these if needed to suit your personal needs.
Your “all apps tile” will give you access to the apps drawer and here is where you can pick if you need to make one into a shortcut on the previous screen. When it comes to performance I did find the device laggy sometimes but there is updates coming for it so hopefully that might iron that out. Performance overall was fine sometimes the camera was laggy too and I would advise buying an sd card for storage if you plan to take many photos or video. You can see the performance of the camera below and judge for yourself.
Whilst this phone is not flagship and can be laggy at times it does what it is meant to do for its target market and more with all the mods and cons you tend to find on your typical smartphone today but in a simpler format for a generation that is moving to smartphones to stay connected with family and friends around the world without the convoluted mess you find in your average smartphone today. It does the job really well makes life easy with big tiled icons and numbers and a simple menu structure and offers security with a one push button to call an emergency number on the back,decent battery life and camera to boot. It is a job well done and executed.
