Truck drivers haven’t been able to spec a new Caterpillar-powered truck in nearly a decade, but they can spec a new piece of Cat equipment of a smaller variety: The company’s second take on a rugged smartphone built for users who work in industries like trucking and construction.
New Cat smartphoneThe new Cat S60 was unveiled last last week, a follow-up to a few other devices the company has churned out in recent years, including its initial take on a tough Android-powered device, 2013’s Cat B15.
Like the B15, the S60 is built for abuse. Caterpillar says it can survive a drop onto concrete from about 10 feet high, and it’s waterproof in a submersion as deep as 5 meters (about 20 feet) for an hour. Its camera works underwater, too.
The S60 runs the latest version of Android, 6.0 Marshmallow and packs a large battery, along with standard processing spec’s. It comes with a 4.7-inch high-def display screen, and its frame is built with die-cast steel.
And, in a first-to-market feature, the S60 sports built-in thermal imaging capabilities, able to detect heat and surface temperature from between 50 and 100 feet out. Cat says this allows users to: “detect heat loss around windows and doors; spot moisture and missing insulation; identify over-heating electrical appliances and circuitry; and see in complete darkness.”
