Yeah but in the pub if someone pulled out the CAT and you pulled out your S9 (whatever) no one will look twice at the S9 or ask to "have a go!" In a smartphone world filled with "much of a muchness" we need stuff like this.
The big bezels are for extra drop protection. From coverage elsewhere this's built to take a 5 or 6 foot fall on concrete vs the 3 feet for a more conventional design. A construction site's also going to have a lot more opportunities to bang against something hard than your office will.
The buttons were addressed in the article. I'm not sure that 'so they work with thick gloves' is a good justification though, since doing almost anything else with it's going to require the capacities touchscreen that won't work with normal gloves.
It's all about context really. One of my friends is a builder and the other day I saw him in his work clothes, dirty after some messy work, pulling out a fancy smartphone and gingerly responding to a message. It looked, well, odd. I think the Cat would look right at home in that environment.
It's for work, not for showing off. If it had a decent CPU, I'd think about it. Even one A75 core (in addition to a few A55s) would be enough. But I get frustrated with slowness in 0.1s (literally).
But, but, how can it be waterproof when it has a headphone jack?!
Seriously though, this is a very interesting device, much more interesting than any of the form-over-function "flagships" from Samsung, Apple, or others. And no, not in just a "interesting to read about" way, but as a daily workhorse. Makes sense that an expensive electronic tool that gets used constantly throughout the day should be rugged. Thermal camera looks interesting for household energy efficiency testing. Would love to see this in a 6" 16:9 (or ~6.5" 2:1) phablet form, maybe up the RAM a couple gigs, and add 802.11ac (though maybe that was just an oversight in the article, I thought ac was built in to the SoC).
I get my ruggedness from putting a decent case around my phones. If you need more ruggedness than that, you are one of the people working in the fields the article mentioned. But normal people don't need that. The thermal camera is a gimick that will get used the first week of owning it. If you want it for your house, go to your local energy company or similar organizations, they usually loan out thermal imaging stuff for free or a few dollars. I don't see the appeal to normal people, personally. But I don't think CAT cares about those either. :D
In general, ruggedized phones are deployed with cases, They have to survive being dropped 4 stories+ onto concrete. There things are mostly used on job sites or heavy industrial situations. It's not really for "normal people". I think they'll sell a tonne of these, $999 is about half what ruggedized phones normally sell for.
You accept that this is for a niche, and then claim that it has features that are not wanted by the general consumer... Those aren't valid points against it being a good device for that niche, and hence a good device.
As for ruggedness; the case is only one part and I guarantee you that a more delicate phone in a protective case will not be as protective as a rugged phone in a protective case (which has the benefit of not needing a case if need be).
Further, where I live, thermal imaging equipment is expensive and companies do not just hand it out willy-nilly. The thermal imaging camera here is obviously not very high resolution, but it's not intended for such exact measurement' it's just to get a rough but decent measurement of the temperature from a device the user will likely always have on them.
"But, but, how can it be waterproof when it has a headphone jack?!" Practically every waterproof phone in the past decade (all Sony phones, some Samsung, LG etc) had headphone jacks, without flaps. Not only that but they even worked with waterproof headphones in water.
Nice device, regarding the laser-assisted distance sensor they should be able of updating the software to be able to hold the phone upside-down and using the gyro to reorient. That is, if it's not working already and you just didn't think about testing this scenario.
It makes sense that they would place the laser at the bottom. Most people using this would likely hold the phone from the top and place the bottom of the phone against the surface of what you want to measure. For example in a kitchen, you place it on the counter-top to measure where the wall is, etc. You want the laser as close to the perpendicular surface as possible.
I'm an electrician abd regularly work in very dirty and dusty environment. This phone is the only phone that makes me want to "upgrade" my OnePlus 3...
We have the S60. It's really useful to check where heat is lost at home. I bet in most colder countries it would pay for itself by just walking around with this thing and a can of builders foam.
Builders would love this phone, I've walked around construction sites that could kill an unprotected phone in a single drop. Heck, those places could kill you if you didn't have a hard hat on.
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jabber - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
More interesting than any boring old flagship phone.GTRagnarok - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
More interesting to read about, sure, but I'll take my boring old flagship.jabber - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
Yeah but in the pub if someone pulled out the CAT and you pulled out your S9 (whatever) no one will look twice at the S9 or ask to "have a go!" In a smartphone world filled with "much of a muchness" we need stuff like this.Dr. Swag - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
I think if someone saw the CAT they would think to themselves "what's that ugly piece of crap..." Rather than "woah what's that cool thing?!?"shabby - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
Precisely, ugh those bezels, why is it so thicc? Are those buttons on the front?!?jabber - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
Well I can't help if it doesn't go with your handbags.shabby - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
Its not a purse, its european!DanNeely - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
The big bezels are for extra drop protection. From coverage elsewhere this's built to take a 5 or 6 foot fall on concrete vs the 3 feet for a more conventional design. A construction site's also going to have a lot more opportunities to bang against something hard than your office will.The buttons were addressed in the article. I'm not sure that 'so they work with thick gloves' is a good justification though, since doing almost anything else with it's going to require the capacities touchscreen that won't work with normal gloves.
Hyper72 - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
It's all about context really. One of my friends is a builder and the other day I saw him in his work clothes, dirty after some messy work, pulling out a fancy smartphone and gingerly responding to a message. It looked, well, odd. I think the Cat would look right at home in that environment.peevee - Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - link
It's for work, not for showing off.If it had a decent CPU, I'd think about it. Even one A75 core (in addition to a few A55s) would be enough. But I get frustrated with slowness in 0.1s (literally).
Dremor - Saturday, March 10, 2018 - link
@peeveSD630 is an awesome CPU.
There's nothing (excluding games) out there, requiring anything "faster" CPU.
You can't feel any "slowness" with it.
GreenMeters - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
But, but, how can it be waterproof when it has a headphone jack?!Seriously though, this is a very interesting device, much more interesting than any of the form-over-function "flagships" from Samsung, Apple, or others. And no, not in just a "interesting to read about" way, but as a daily workhorse. Makes sense that an expensive electronic tool that gets used constantly throughout the day should be rugged. Thermal camera looks interesting for household energy efficiency testing. Would love to see this in a 6" 16:9 (or ~6.5" 2:1) phablet form, maybe up the RAM a couple gigs, and add 802.11ac (though maybe that was just an oversight in the article, I thought ac was built in to the SoC).
Ian Cutress - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
802.11n is correct. The SoC may support ac, but it has not been implemented.Death666Angel - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
I get my ruggedness from putting a decent case around my phones. If you need more ruggedness than that, you are one of the people working in the fields the article mentioned. But normal people don't need that. The thermal camera is a gimick that will get used the first week of owning it. If you want it for your house, go to your local energy company or similar organizations, they usually loan out thermal imaging stuff for free or a few dollars. I don't see the appeal to normal people, personally. But I don't think CAT cares about those either. :DFlunk - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
In general, ruggedized phones are deployed with cases, They have to survive being dropped 4 stories+ onto concrete. There things are mostly used on job sites or heavy industrial situations. It's not really for "normal people". I think they'll sell a tonne of these, $999 is about half what ruggedized phones normally sell for.Allan_Hundeboll - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
So normal people doesn't work in the mentioned fields? What kind of bubble are you living in??Tams80 - Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - link
You accept that this is for a niche, and then claim that it has features that are not wanted by the general consumer... Those aren't valid points against it being a good device for that niche, and hence a good device.As for ruggedness; the case is only one part and I guarantee you that a more delicate phone in a protective case will not be as protective as a rugged phone in a protective case (which has the benefit of not needing a case if need be).
Further, where I live, thermal imaging equipment is expensive and companies do not just hand it out willy-nilly. The thermal imaging camera here is obviously not very high resolution, but it's not intended for such exact measurement' it's just to get a rough but decent measurement of the temperature from a device the user will likely always have on them.
Myrandex - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
Umm the Galaxy S5, S7, and S8 were all waterproof with a headphone jack?T2k - Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - link
"But, but, how can it be waterproof when it has a headphone jack?!"Practically every waterproof phone in the past decade (all Sony phones, some Samsung, LG etc) had headphone jacks, without flaps. Not only that but they even worked with waterproof headphones in water.
peevee - Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - link
Check your sarcasm sensor.vladx - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
Nice device, regarding the laser-assisted distance sensor they should be able of updating the software to be able to hold the phone upside-down and using the gyro to reorient. That is, if it's not working already and you just didn't think about testing this scenario.andychow - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
It makes sense that they would place the laser at the bottom. Most people using this would likely hold the phone from the top and place the bottom of the phone against the surface of what you want to measure. For example in a kitchen, you place it on the counter-top to measure where the wall is, etc. You want the laser as close to the perpendicular surface as possible.Allan_Hundeboll - Monday, March 5, 2018 - link
I'm an electrician abd regularly work in very dirty and dusty environment. This phone is the only phone that makes me want to "upgrade" my OnePlus 3...Foeketijn - Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - link
We have the S60. It's really useful to check where heat is lost at home. I bet in most colder countries it would pay for itself by just walking around with this thing and a can of builders foam.serendip - Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - link
Builders would love this phone, I've walked around construction sites that could kill an unprotected phone in a single drop. Heck, those places could kill you if you didn't have a hard hat on.