And that is really all this does. I don't use a phone for the Internet - we have a laptop, a tablet, and my computer + my husband has a smart phone if we need to check anything away from home. We have MP3 players for music, an excellent digital camera and a camcorder, and if I want to play games - there is Nintendo DS - in short I have other devices that do a better job at all the extra functions one often buys a phone for - I want a phone to make and receive calls - nothing else. I bought this phone so that I can easily call my husband to collect me after hospital appointments, have access to a phone for emergencies if I am in the caravan, and the odd time the main landline has gone out on us - which has happened a few times - the last time taking 4 days before we had phone service again.

I paid £5.95 for this phone with a mandatory £10 calling time which brought the total up to £15.95 from the carphone warehouse. In the box you get the phone, a mains charger, a small instructions book and nothing else, you don't even get an earphone. If you should want to buy an earphone - there is not a seperate slot for this. Instead you will have to open up the charging slot and attempt to thread the earphone into the small circular bit in the middle. I have this on Virgin, but it was available on, Orange, O2, T-mobile and Vodaphone as well at the same price. The phone itself is unlocked so you can put any card into it - you just pick which network you want and you can take the card home and set it up, or they will do it free of charge. I took this option and let the salesperson set it all up, but it was only a few minutes and I do think it would be simple enough to do yourself.

This phone does have a couple of features - it has a radio, alarm clock, a calculator, a calender, a stopwatch, torch light and one game, but I do not use any of these. I would point out that the torch function is simply the screen lit up and isn't going to do much, and the game - a jewel puzzle game is so awkward to use even the kids won't play it - and I like bejeweled - it's just that the controls are awful. There is no camera at all. You can of course text with this phone, but the keys are tiny , a bit stiff, and this phone would not be ideal if you spend a lot of time texting. The phone book is simple and easy to use, and you have a choice of a few ring tones but they are all awful in my opinion - very high pitched polymorphic noises. I'd much prefer a simple ring, but then I don't get a lot of calls on this, so I can live it with it. If turned up loud - which my husband did - I can hear this from anywhere in the house or even if the phone is indoors and I am out in the garden. It is very, very loud. There's no way you can claim not to have heard this one.

But the one area this phone really shines is the very simple making and receiving calls. I live in a signal blackspot of sometime. My husband has always had trouble getting a signal and often has to stand in the hallway, as it the one spot in the house with a stronger signal. This little phone has never had a problem though - I can get a signal anywhere. We are both on the same network, so I do think this just has a stronger device for picking up a signal. It works grand out in the middle of nowhere too. Voices are crystal clear with this unless my husband is having trouble with a signal on his phone - not the fault of this phone. I never have to ask anyone to repeat anything.

The other strong spot on this phone is the battery. I've been waiting for the battery to run low before reviewing this - and waiting and waiting and waiting. Two weeks in fact, and that is with a few phone calls, setting it up and general messing about while the kids tried the game etc..... It still isn't dead - I could still make a phone call on this - but it has started to beep in a very loud annoying fashion and tell me that the battery is low, so I have just plugged it in and started my review. This came charged as well, and I have no way of knowing how long this phone sat with this charge before we bought it, but it was of course turned off. It has left been on for the whole 2 weeks I have owned it.

Overall - I am really happy with this phone. Yes I know it doesn't have any extras - but I don't need them. It is reliable and does what it meant to do - make phone calls. I like having this for an emergency back up in the house, and I like the fact that I now have a phone of my own for the caravan. My son does have a better phone that he kept for the games when his father upgraded, but if he wants to go out and play around the neighbourhood, or caravan park I'd rather he take this. It is very sturdy and can easily handle a few drops and a bit of bashing about. It isn't really good enough for anyone to want to steal - and if my son should lose this - it isn't the end of the world as it far easier replaced than his own phone.

If you are looking for a very simple phone, for calls only, I am quite happy to recommend this. Even if you have a much better phone, this is good one to take places like the beach where a good phone could be damaged, or just as an emergency back up. For a child just to have a way to contact home when out, or for parents to call it is grand as well - but I think most children would be quite disappointed with this as their own phone. It certainly would not make a nice Christmas box. Honestly , I would have liked a simple camera on this as it's so small and easy to carry about in a pocket, and I am afraid to take my good camera some places like a day at the beach, but I am planning to buy a tiny cheap, tiny, digital camera as well and combing the price of the two items, this still works out so much less expensive than buying a phone with a decent camera built in.

In deciding how to rate this phone, I have not rated down for lack of features. I knew it did not have any features when I bought this, and I don't think anyone who wants a phone that does it all would even look at this phone. You really can a lot expect a lot of features for £5.95 . I bought this for phone calls only, and it is excellent for this single purpose.