Caterpillar, which is famous for all of its heavy construction machinery and protective equipment, has recently unveiled a smartphone with a built-in thermal imaging camera designed for professionals. It is dubbed as CAT S60 and is claimed to be the first of its kind in the world. CAT S60 is set to be rolled out later this year with different price tags in different regions. The price for the Europe release is €649 whilst for U.S, it is $599. The company has not yet declared price for the UK region, but it is expected to be around £429.
The developer company Caterpillar (or simply CAT) designed the smartphone with the thermal imaging camera to help those who are in the manufacturing and construction industry enabling them to use it even while they are working in the fields.
In terms of specifications, it is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 617 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM that operates on Android Marshmallow OS. The device houses 3800mAh battery that is coupled with the Doze feature allowing it's standby time to reach up to several days, unlike other smartphones. It features a thermal-imaging camera (that company claims is accurate up to 30-metres and is based on FLIR lepton sensors) below which there is a regular 13-megapixel camera which is sufficient and enough to take high-quality photos of the field work. The ability to survive up to 5-meters deep in water for nearly 60 minutes makes the device stand apart.
The company took special care while designing the case for the smartphone. The case as reports suggest is very rugged for added grip while the smartphone is submerged underwater, and unlike other devices that often give away, in this case, users will be able to utilize the touchscreen properly even with wet hand or fingers. Additionally, its case has a unique property of withstanding a drop on solid ground from a height of 1.8-meters.
If what company states is true then normal users may find it hard to buy a CAT S60 smartphone once it releases since the company said that it will only be available through specialist shops or directly from them. Still, one can expect to see them getting sold out through heavy machinery stores found in large malls.
