I gave the salesman at my local Phone4U an unexpected treat last week when I walked into the store and simply said 'I want a cheap contract and I'm not too fussed about the phone'. He directed me to the Nokia 201- I hadn't considered a QWERTY phone but for £10.50 a month I decided to give it a go. My Orange Canary plan gives me 500 texts and 100 minutes a month which seems more than enough.

The design
The Nokia 201 is fairly chunky looking at first glance due to the need to accommodate the keyboard. However, it makes up for this by being surprisingly flat and light at only 99g and under 14mm deep. My previous phone was a Motorola RAZR which was considerably bulkier despite not having half of the features of the Nokia. The 201 is still pocket-sized and the rounded edges are a nice design feature. There are plenty of inexpensive hard cases and leather cases available online and I think I'll invest to be on the safe side.

Useability
The 201 uses the same basic interface as more basic Nokia phones. One drawback is that a few commonly named features are given more subtle names, meaning they take a while to locate. For example instead of an 'inbox', there's a folder simply marked 'conversations' If there is a vibrate mode I haven't found it as it's clearly been given a different, 'edgier' name... I suspect that all the features you expect to find are there if you know where to find them, but I still think terms like 'inbox' should be universal.

For texting, the QWERTY keyboard is a brilliant timesaver and takes very little time to get the hang of. The central block of keys doubles as a numerical keypad although these seem a little too small and fiddly for quick dialling. It might have been better if these keys had been made a bit larger, although this might have disrupted the unity of the QWERTY keypad and make typing less easy. The phone is very easy to use and while the keys are designated as 'soft' keys, they're hard enough that it's difficult to press them by accident and lose your message or accidently phone your boss at 3am (obviously there's also a keypad lock for that).

Features
The Nokia 201 has a range of features including a 3.2 megapixel camera, an FM radio and the ability to make videos (there's no maximum video length- it depends how much memory you have left). It's also equipped with 3G and wi-fi technology, although I've disabled this to prevent Orange from hitting me with mountainous bills. Overall I use it as a pretty basic phone, but it's nice to have the option of a few features in case I change my mind.

Conclusion
To summarise, I'm very happy with the 201 as a purchase. Now that I've mastered the interface I'm kicking myself that I didn't take the plunge sooner. It's perfect for someone like me- I'm still a bit of a technophobe but at the same time don't want to be left behind too much. It's certainly an improvement on my previous phone, which only held 20 text messages(!)