Cat phones aren’t really built for the average consumer. They’re tough-as-nails smartphones designed for folks who work outdoors or in other environments where phones are exposed to dust, water, and drops. That’s one of the reasons the company’s phones tend to be rugged, kind of ugly, and expensive.
But the latest two Cat phones actually have a kind of (rugged) charm. And they’re also pretty reasonably priced.
Cat unveiled the new Cat S31 and Cat S41 during this week’s IFA show in Berlin, where the company is also showing off its first Windows tablet, the Caterpillar T20.
The Cat S31 is a €329 ($390) phone with a 4.7 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel touchscreen display that you can use with gloves or wet fingers. The phone is MIL-SPEC-810G tested, features a Gorilla Glass 3 screen, an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, and it can withstand a 1.8 meter (6 foot) drop onto concrete.
In terms of basic smartphone specs it has… basic smartphone specs, including a 1.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snpadragon chip, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage (plus a microSD card slot), an 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front camera.
But the Cat S31 But it has dual SIM support, a 4,000 mAh battery, and programmable physical short cut keys for push-to-talk, camera, or flashlight functions, among other things.
The Cat S41 is a step up in most respects. It has a 5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel display protected by Gorilla Glass 5, a 2.3 GHz octacore MediaTek processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (plus a microSD card slot), a 4,00 mAh battery, a 13MP rear camera with phase detection autofocus, and an 8MP front-facing camera.
The larger model has the same water, dust, and drop resistance as the Cat S31. But it’s obviously a big more expensive, with a suggested retail price of €449 ($533).
It also has the advantage of being available now. The smaller phone will be available later this year. Both the Cat S31 and Cat S41 are expected to ship with Android 7.x Nougat software.
The company hasn’t announced the release date for its upcoming Caterpiller T20 Windows 10 tablet yet but we know that it’s priced at €649 ($770).
That’s kind of a lot of money if you just look at the spec sheet, but it’s important to keep in mind that this is a heavy-duty tablet made for use in the field, not the living room.
It measures 8.7″ x 5.6″ x 0.6″ and weighs 1.4 pounds and the tablet features an 8 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel IPS LCD display, an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 Cherry Trail processor, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage.
It has a 5MP rear camera, a 2MP front camera, a micro USB 3.0 port, a mini HDMI port.
Wireless features include GPS, dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and Buetooth 4.1 and support for 4G LTE Cat 4 cellular connections, as well as HSPA, GSM, GPRS, and Edge.
via Cat Phones
Okay; really: they all are great (love ruggeds,man !) and i think ip68 should be standarized soon: but Cant be happy, dude: Sansumg is no longer what it used to be (good value for money) … it has gone to the dark side. You can buy five good ruggeds from agm with that price : x1 18k gold edition gooo xD !
This looks like a rope-a-dope. 4k mAh? I read a review last week for smartphone with 7k mAh battery. By the way, it is raining MIL-SPEC/tough/rugged smartphones with gorilla ass and dragon entrails. WHO CARES? If they have non removable, 4k Wussy-mAh batteries? Electric cars and motorcycles are on the roads and phone manufacturers can’t put out a smartphone that can run 3-days on a charge?
Anyway, I bought this $20 flip-phone and it smooth and slim and slides in and out of my pocket like a greased rooster. I actually forget its in my pocket until it starts ringing and vibrating – and then I need some privacy: I slide my hand up my denim clad thigh and out comes this flip-phone stiffy. It’s porno graphic.
I have the S60 with the thermal imaging sensor camera. It’s definitely a monster. It’s CAT branded but a company in the UK named Bullitt (or similar) manufactures it. It comes with some very useful preloaded apps and has a button for radio as well as functionality for one touch emergency assistance request. Really spiffy.
I was sort of wondering when they were going to release a updated phone with better specs and was looking around a couple of weeks ago. I am guessing the S60 didn’t sell overly well if they aren’t bringing out a updated device with thermal imaging, I’m guessing that’s due to the high price and debatable usefulness for many of the thermal camera. Dissapointed though as I like it.
I was also wondering if there would be a S61. Maybe there will, but it doesn’t look to hopeful. I guess most people who want a thermal imaging camera already have one. Improving the main camera as would have been nice.
Ah well.
s60 sells pretty good in asia. better than other rugged phones anyways since it’s by far the most common in hong kong. I too am waiting for s61. just broke my s7 and using my backup huawei atm.
For a rugged device in this day-and-age, I’d expect a covered type-c connector and wireless-charging, two features that would make a device last.
MIL-SPEC-810G includes full immersion in water so whatever they’re doing, it works.
I’m sure it does but try cleaning dirt out of a micro USB socket without breaking it.