Hands on: Cat B15 review

Hands on: Cat B15 review

You probably know Cat or Caterpillar as the guys in yellow and black, makers of construction equipment and those boots the cool kids were wearing for a little while. Now you can add smartphones to that list, thanks to the Cat B15.

Actually, the phone is made by Bullitt Mobile, a licensee of Cat, and this isn't its first smartphone rodeo under the Cat name. Its made a couple phones in the past, and it launched the Cat B15 at MWC 2013 in Barcelona. This rugged device has been available in Europe for a little while, and is making its North American debut at a pre-show event for CTIA 2013.

Rubber outside, Jelly Bean inside

The Cat B15 has a rubber and aluminum shell with a sweet Android 4.1: Jelly Bean center. It's built to make calls and survive falls; with just a 5-megapixel camera and dual-core 1GHz processor, it's not designed for much else.

Cat B15 review

As we mentioned, the Cat B15 has been available in Europe for a while now, and can actually be purchased as an unlocked device directly from Cat for $349/£300. Representatives showing the device couldn't name the U.S. carriers that will carry it.

No 4G here, sadly

However, we'll tell you that the Cat B15 is a GSM phone, so therefore AT&T and T-Mobile are your likely candidates. No dice with GSM carriers Sprint and Verizon. It's also 3G only, so forget about up-to-date data speeds.

Cat B15 review

Like a lot of rubberized and ruggedized phones, such as the Kyocera Torque, the Cat B15 looks like a phone in a heavy rubber case. Phones like this are bulky by nature, but it does seem like Cat has slimmed down the B15 as much as possible.

Looks like a handsome screwdriver

The B15 is just shy of 5-inches, with a width of 2.7-inches and .58-inches of thickness. It also feels pretty good, and doesn't weigh too much, just 5.9 oz. Its rubber body casing and aluminum sides give it the look of a toolbox or an eye-catching screwdriver.

Cat B15 review

The display is a 4-inch 480 x 800 screen resolution. But get this: it's designed to detect and stand up to wet finger, because the Cat B15 is waterproof at a depth of up to 1 meter, for thirty minutes. We actually had the chance to wet our digits and give the phone a swipe, and it did indeed work. Frequent snorkelers, we may have your net phone here.

Cat B15 review

The manufacturer also claims the B15 is "impervious to dust," which is likely thanks to all the rubber seals fitted in each and every port. The headphone jack up seals up, as does the micro-USB charging port.

Treat it like a rented phone

It's also rated for a drop of up to six feet, which should be more than enough to survive a tumble from your hand to the floor. Cat representatives on hand were eager to drop the phone and prove this claim.

Cat B15 review

Getting back to the build, one of the things we like least about a smartphone case is how it makes the buttons difficult to push. Luckily, the B15's yellow rubber buttons weren't too bad. They didn't press as easy as an iPhone 5's unlock button, but they didn't take too much effort, either.

It opens up, no mallet required

You wouldn't think it, but the B15 actually has an open body design. It takes some doing, but you can unlatch the back and open it up to reveal a 2000 mAh battery and microSD slot. There's only 4GB of on board storage, so it's a good thing you can add an additional 32GB.

Cat B15 review

Of course, this isn't really a media centric or image snapping phone. The camera is only 5-mp and the processor is low-end, but flipping across menus and diving into the app draw, the B15 was no slouch. We didn't detect any stuttering, and the browser opened with acceptable speed.

Cat B15 review

We'd guess that's Jelly Bean at work, as the B15 runs a version that's darn close to stock. We noticed just one toolbar that smacked of manufacturer meddling.

Early Verdict

When a brand like Cat enters the smartphone game, it's tempting to look at it as selling a name, not a phone. Cat has parleyed its black and yellow good looks and blue collar street cred into clothes, boots, watches and more. Its even appeared at London Fashion Week.

We won't know if Cat is a smartphone dilettante until we have the B15 in for a full review, but there's a good chance the phone could prove it's worth, and frankly, phones like this could use a little style. We've all seen far too many hideously shattered iPhones and over-the-top protective cases. If someone could sell a tougher phone to that crowd, not just construction workers, they'd be doing the world a favor.

Cat B15 review
We'll take rubber over this any day

Ultimately though, the B15 seems like a budget phone in a well-constructed case. It's 3G only, has a weak processor and camera, and the display is none to sharp. The battery is a bit small at 2000 mAh, which is worrying on a phone that should be reliable above all else.

However, the close to stock Android OS intrigues us, and we have to admit, we're charmed by the phone's sturdiness, and the eagerness of Cat rep's to beat it up for us. Keep your eye out for our full review, and an update whenever we get some carrier info.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Shining bright like a diamond, Samsung shows off new screen tech

Shining bright like a diamond, Samsung shows off new screen tech

Diamond Pixel technology headlines Display Week 2013

Screens, screens, screens - Samsung has a one track mind so far this week.

Samsung Display announced Monday the company will unveil a pair of new screen technologies during Display Week 2013 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, which runs through May 23.

The Korean manufacturer has chosen the annual Society for Information Display industry event to highlight its latest Diamond Pixel LCD technology on screens big and small.

On the larger end of the spectrum is an 85-inch Ultra HD LCD TV panel with a screen resolution of 3840 x 2160 featuring local-dimming control, which consumes 30 percent less energy than traditional LED displays while retaining vivid color reproduction.

Keeping up with the amped pixel theme, Samsung is also showing off a 10.1-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) LCD for tablets and a 13.3-inch LCD for notebooks. The company claims both can deliver 30 percent greater power-savings than existing LCD tablet screens, though we'll believe that when we see it.

Diamond sharp text

For phones, Samsung Display is demonstrating a 4.99-inch, full HD (1920 x 1080) AMOLED display, which the manufacturer claimed has the broadest color gamut to date.

Since the human retina reacts more to the color green over red or blue, Samsung's Diamond Pixel packs more green pixels into a display panel, resulting in a sharper screen that accurately reproduces roughly 94 percent of the Adobe RGB color space.

As a result, Samsung Display said text messages will appear 2.2 times clearer than 1280 x 720 HD displays, holding up against magnification of up to three times with fewer jaggies than conventional LCD screens.

Samsung has yet to confirm when Diamond Pixel technology will begin shipping, but Display Week attendees can check out the tech - plus a prototype 23-inch multi-touch LCD display capable of picking up 10 touch points simultaneously - through Thursday.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Verizon’s 3G Prepaid Plans With Extended Data

Back in February this year, Verizon introduced budget friendly 3G prepaid plans which included the $60/month plan with 500MB of data and 2GB of data for $70/month. Both the plans include unlimited talk and texts. Now Big Red has quietly extended the amount of data allotted for each plan.

From now on, customers using BlackBerry, Android or iOS 3G smartphones will be able to enjoy 2GB of data with the $60 plan, while the $70 plan is coming with 4GB of mobile data. These new offers are available at the moment to existing customers. These won’t be available to new customers until June 6thAnd just in case you don’t know, these plans are just for 3G. There are no hints about the inclusion of LTE. And there are others around offering better plans, though everything will depend on the coverage that you get.

Are you currently using one of these plans? If yes, are you satisfied with the increase of data? Verizon’s 3G plans are expected to become cheaper while also offering more data in the future as more customers start using LTE.



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

Vodafone Smart 3 is clever on price and features

Vodafone Smart 3 is clever on price and features

Smart by name, but is it Smart by nature?

The big red network has announced the third generation of its own-brand smartphone in the form of the Vodafone Smart 3, looking to offer a slug of power at a low price.

Building on its predecessor the Smart 2, the Vodafone Smart 3 packs a 4-inch display, 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, 5MP camera, microSD slot and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

While the specs won't exactly set the world alight, the price might: the Vodafone Smart 3 will set you back £95 on PAYG, or you can pick it up for free on contracts starting at £13 per month.

This places it against the likes of the ZTE Blade 3, Huawei Ascend G330 and Nokia Lumia 520 at the increasingly competitive bottom end of the mobile market.

More of the same

For those of you who are cripplingly fashion conscious there's two whole colour options for you to choose from - black and white. Breaking the mould there, Vodafone. Well done.

In terms of design the Smart 3 appears to be just another slab of generic plastic measuring a distinctly average 123.2 x 64.4 x 10.9mm.

The only point of interest on the front is the red speaker grill located in the bottom left corner.

We can only hope the Vodafone Smart 3 is an improvement on its predecessor, with the Smart 2 plagued by poor battery life, a disappointing display and flaky camera resulting in a lowly two out of five stars.


Source : techradar[dot]com

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