It's not always about how much high-tech gadgetry you can squeeze in.

With the KF300, LG has introduced a mobile phone that takes a significantly more low-key approach than its recent attention-grabbing models like the Renoir, putting simple usability high up the priority list.

The LG KF300 doesn't do touchscreen operation like the Renoir or Cookie, touch sensitive control like the KF600 and Secret, or hot-shot 8-megapixel snapping like the KC780.

It's a more modestly equipped flip-phone that's targeted at mobile buyers after a straightforward to use handset that's not old-fashioned basic but which has a dash of undemonstrative style to it.

Budget spec

Arriving in the UK on an Orange exclusive, the KF300 doesn't have 3G multimedia functionality, though it does have quad-band GSM GPRS/EDGE connectivity. Its features include an MP3 player and FM radio plus a 2-megapixel camera, and it supports MicroSD card expansion, but doesn't have any of the high-end stuff like Wi-Fi, GPS or multi-gigabyte memory.

Instead, much of what makes this phone stand out happens directly under the flip lid. It has large, finger-friendly numberpad keys with big, easy-to-read characters, while the control panel is similarly well spread for comfortable keying. This is a phone that's meant to be easy to use.

Running with that theme, LG has stuck four additional hotkey buttons under the phone's display, giving users quick and obvious access to handy functions, with each of them labelled with symbols for specific purposes - Alarm clock, Calendar, Images, and Favourites (a user-definable list of most-wanted apps).

And out of the box, LG goes easy on the eyesight with extra large fonts set as default for the menu system – though this can be easily changed if your prefer.

Understated phone

The KF300 is no super-skinny flip phone. It has a substantial footprint, measuring 98.8(h) x 49.5(w) x 16.2(d)mm, and weighing 97g. Of course this gives it enough room for the expansive numberpad and extra buttonry, though the screen under the flip is still an average 2.2-inch QVGA 262K-colour affair.

On the outside, the casing is mature-smart rather than stylish, with rubber-feel black bodywork with chrome-look trim, and a reflective front panel fully covered by a sheet of plastic.

Its understated shell hides a secondary external display on the flip, which lights up when the flip's opened, providing caller info too when a call or text comes in. The camera perches neatly on top of the fascia on a chrome strip.

Simple menus

Although designed to go easy on eye-work, the matt black numberpad is easy on the eye too. The number keys are simply arranged, are a good size for error-free punching, and are firm and responsive for texting and number tapping.

The controls, built around a large navigation pad laid out in conventional phone style, are roomy too. It has shortcuts on the directional keys, which can be user defined if required, icons for which are displayed onscreen (they can be switched off if desired).

Although LG has scaled up certain elements and added buttons, it hasn't reinvented or oversimplified the control system underpinning the KF300 – it's very much familiar LG stuff we've seen before. The main menu, laid out in gird format, leads to further sub-menu lists, which can be scrolled through to select, or selected quickly by pressing the appropriate number key next to the option.

Handy hotkeys

In practice, this makes it pretty straightforward for anyone familiar with conventional phone layouts to get to grips with, while the extra shortcut buttons make life easier for those who just want to access certain functions quickly.