IFA 2017
IFA is Europe's big annual gadget show, and it increasingly plays host for new phone announcements. We're expecting news from LG, Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Huawei, and more. We're in Berlin all week bringing you in-depth hands-on reports.
Hands On with the CAT S41 and S31
Cat's latest rugged smartphones are the S41 and the S31. These two handsets are tough hombres that can handle plenty of punishment thanks to their mil-spec 810G and IP68 ratings. With stock Android Nougat on board and advanced features such as wet-finger tracking and underwater photography, there's plenty to like about these chunky work phones. Here are our initial impressions.
Latest Cat Phones Pack Humongous Batteries
Cat Phones today announced the S41 and S31 smartphones, updates to models from last year. Cat handsets are actually manufactured by Bullitt Group, which licenses the Cat brand. Like most Cat Phones, the S41 and S31 are fully ruggedized mil-spec 810G handsets and more or less impervious to damage from drops, shock, moisture, dust, altitude temperature extremes, and similar dangers. Each is rated IP68 for protection against water and dust. The phones include programmable PTT buttons and run Android 7 Nougat. Each handset has varying degrees of support for U.S. LTE bands, but for the most part they are compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile.
- Cat S41: The S41 is the more well-spec'd of the two handsets. It has as 5-inch full HD display with Gorilla Glass 5 and wet finger tracking. The S41 is powered by a 2.3 GHz octa-core MediaTek processor with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. The main camera has a 13-megapixel sensor with LED flash and PDAF, while the selfie camera has an 8-megapixel sensor. Both cameras can operate when the phone is under water. The battery measures in at 5,000mAh and provides up to 44 days of standby time or 38 hours of talk time. The phone can be used to power up other devices. The S41 costs about $475 and will go on sale in Europe beginning August 31.
- S31: This handset is slightly smaller than the S41 thanks to its 4.7-inch screen at 720p resolution with Gorilla Glass 3 and wet finger tracking. It relies on a quad-core 1.3 GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. The main camera has an 8-megapixel sensor while the front camera has a 2-megapixel sensor. The S31 has a 4,000mAh battery. It goes on sale later this year for about $355.
