by Joy Cooke

Created on: October 10, 2010

I was given this swanky new Samsung Tocco Lite as a Christmas gift, I was actually perfectly happy with my older Samsung E250 but my daughter decided it was time for me to upgrade and I'm very glad she chose this phone as it's excellent for my needs. This phone is a very reasonably priced touchscreen phone; costing around £90 I imagine it is classed as an entry level phone, perfect for people who either can't afford or don't particularly feel the need for an iPhone.

Aesthetically the phone is very attractive; fairly slim but not overly so, the screen is three inches from top to bottom and this takes up most of the front of the phone - something made possible by the fact that Samsung have removed the keypad from the body of the phone and incorporated it into the actual touchscreen. There are just three actual physically pressable buttons on the front of the Tocco Lite and these are simply to answer and end a call, and the third one is a useful 'back' button which will help you make your way through the various menus onscreen.

There are lots of features inside the Tocco Lite, but to use this as a phone (as opposed to a music centre/games station/alarm clock) is a very pleasant and simple experience. It took me a while to work out how to actually find a keypad in order to dial a phone number, but that is pure technological ignorance on my part as there is a rather clear button located on the bottom left of the touchscreen which says 'keypad'. Once I'd found this I was fine, and it did teach me to look at the individual screens on the phone a little more carefully as I acquainted myself with my new gadget.

Call clarity is excellent; a perfect example is during a long weekend in North Wales recently where my Tocco Lite was the only one of the six phones we had with us which worked at our secluded campsite, and it picked up a signal long after my son in laws iPhone was rendered useless because he couldn't get a signal in amongst the mountains. I can usually hear the person I am talking to perfectly, occasionally there is a touch of interference when the baby monitor is switched on but this is true of many phones and moving a few feet away will usually sharpen the clarity again. I haven't noticed any other incidences where the signal has been lost or calls have been unclear, in fact this is the only phone I have owned where I can honestly say the calls are as clear as those I make and receive on my land line.

The phonebook is easily accessible

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