Caterpillar is better for its construction machinery and equipment, but the company has also been making rugged smartphones, some of them strong enough to be run over by 4+ tons machines, for several years, and they’ve now unveiled Cat S60 smartphone powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor and including both a 13MP camera and a FLIR thermal camera on the back of the device.
Cat S60 preliminary specifications:
- SoC – Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor
- System Memory – 3GB RAM
- Storage – 32GB flash
- Display – 4.7” HD capacitive multi-touch with auto wet finger & glove support; 1280 x 720 resolution; Gorilla Glass 4
- Connectivity – 4G LTE
- Camera
- 13MP main camera with dual flash
- 5MP front-facing camera
- FLIR thermal camera app with MSX technology capable of detecting temperature up to 15 to 30 meters
- Battery – 3,800 mAh
- IP Rating – N/A, but the phone can be used at up to 5m under water for one hour
- Ruggedness – Drop proof to 1.8m, MIL Spec 810G; Strengthened Die Cast Frame
S60 will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Some use cases for the thermal camera include detecting heat loss around windows and doors, spotting moisture and missing insulation, identifying over-heating electrical appliances and circuitry, and seeing in the dark.
Cat S60 will be showcased at Mobile World Congress 2016 next week, and become available later this year for 649 Euros / $599 US. You can find some more details by reading the press release, and once it is updated, check out the product page.
Via Liliputing
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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In the same style, there is Crosscall http://crosscall.com/en/ . I don’t know about the pricing though. Some MTB video of rugged usage with Cedric Gracia in Andorra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neiCi6Vjeyo
Wow! Since I am into full-featured phones with small screens (think Xperia Compact) I really like this.