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LG KF300 review: LG KF300

It's not a handset to impress the kids with, but, if you're looking for an easy-to-use phone with big buttons, large text and an easy-to-hear speaker-- this means you, gramps -- the KF300 is a good choice that won't break the bank. And we particularly like the way every menu item has a keyboard shortcut key

Flora Graham
4 min read

Not everyone thinks it's a good idea to have a mobile so small you can put a strap on it and call it a watch phone. For the older phoner, people with disabilities and the chunky-thumbed, a hearty button to push and a big display are more attractive propositions than a wonder of miniaturisation.

6.5

LG KF300

The Good

Large buttons; numerous shortcut keys; adjustable font size; FM radio; easy to use.

The Bad

Poor camera quality; no screen reader.

The Bottom Line

The LG KF300's features are pretty basic, but we like how it crams big buttons and handy shortcut keys into a conservative-looking, thin clamshell that won't break the bank

For such folk, there's the LG KF300 clamshell phone. It won't impress people at the bus stop, but it has some handy features packed into an easy-to-use, thin and light package. It won't badly wound your wallet either: it's available free on a £15-per-month contract with Orange.

Discotastic
The KF300 is kitted out in conservative black plastic with a chrome trim, except for the prism-like front panel, which also sports an external screen with a big, chunky clock. We found the shiny front slightly too '80s, but it's subtle and the handset is pleasantly thin. Despite the plastic body, the phone feels solid and the hinge feels like it could withstand a few thousand flips.

The KF300's buttons are well-labelled and relatively huge

We put on our dark glasses, noise-cancelling headphones and winter gloves to try out the KF300 and we liked what we could see. When we flipped it open, the KF300 blasted our eyeballs with boldly labelled keys that are twice the size of what we typically see. There's a five-way function key, a plethora of shortcut keys for the camera, alarm, calendar and photo gallery, and a customisable key for favourite features.

Big and bold
As well as big buttons, the KF300 has a heap of features to make our muffled lives easier. The default font size in the menus is enormous and adjustable. Also, every menu item has a keyboard shortcut key -- something we'd like to see on more handsets.

Unfortunately, there are a few areas where the KF300 abandons its accessibility crusade. For example, the main menu screen sports detailed icons with small text labels that look lifted from other LG handsets, and they didn't change when we adjusted the text size. We'd have liked to see the accessible design carried through the whole user interface.

Easy as pie
With clearly labelled options and status messages, the KF300 is very easy to use. Basic tasks like sending a text are straightforward, and we especially appreciate the obvious delete key. But we found entering punctuation less intuitive than with some other phones, which might be a problem for our parents, who are prone to sending texts ALL IN CAPS, with no punctuation.

The prism effect on the front panel is too retro for our liking

We also found it totally bizarre that, when dialling a number, the digits are displayed in a swoopy cursive text on a yellowish background that features a music stave. Theme-wise, it doesn't relate to anything else offered by the phone, and it isn't easy to read, so we found it irritating.


The handset kept us alerted with loud tones, and the extra-wide speaker means that calls come in loud and clear. We would have appreciated a built-in screen reader and voice commands, which LG has on some of its other handsets, to round off the accessibility features. We also missed a shutter sound when taking shots with the camera.

Camera obscura
We could live without a fake shutter noise, but the 2-megapixel camera let us down in other ways. Our shots were washed out and noisy in good light, and, in dim light, too noisy to use. The delay between pressing the shutter button and taking a shot is about 1.5 seconds, so it takes a steady hand to take a reliable photo. We'd love to see anti-shake control in a handset like this. But the camera's user interface is easy to use and it would do for the occasional emergency snapshot if you run into Elvis down the shops.

The KF300 also shoots basic video. We found the colours washed out and the KF300 doesn't respond quickly to changes in lighting, but it could prove worthwhile for grabbing a few seconds of the adorable grandchildren's antics. It's worth noting that, although the camera interface makes it easy to fire off our snapshots in an email or MMS, the video player isn't so helpful. Without an easy way to sync the phone with a desktop computer, videos are unlikely to ever make it off the small screen.

Listen up
The lack of easy syncing could also be a problem when it comes to taking advantage of the KF300's media player. There's room for a microSD card to beef up the paltry 14MB of built-in memory, so, with the help of a card reader, you could still pack some tunes on board, but you'll need nimble fingers to wedge the card in place underneath the battery. If you can't be bothered, the handset also has an FM radio, which has a decent interface but is rather slow to run and shut down.

You'll need headphones, and the KF300 has a proprietary headphone socket. Happily, LG has included an adaptor along with some basic earbuds, so you can plug in your own cans and pump up the volume.

Conclusion
The LG KF300 is a thin, easy-to-use clamshell that could satisfy curmudgeons who've been complaining that phones have become too tiny and too flashy. It also has some handy accessibility features, like resizable text, although we'd like to have seen more, such as a screen reader, to make the KF300 truly accessible.

Wallet-friendly and with a decent user interface, the KF300 is a good choice for people who struggle with the overblown features and tiny keys on many newer handsets.

Edited by Charles Kloet