[section_title title=Introduction]Introduction
If you were born in the 80s, you may have had the Nokia 3310 as one of your first mobile phones. The 3310 was well known for it’s ability to survive drops, water and extreme abuse a teenager would typically throw at it. Durable mobile phones were pretty much phased out with the advent of smartphones with their big vulnerable touch screens and hundreds and thousands of apps, so the likes of the Nokia 3310 and it’s kin were quickly replaced. Today you will be hard pushed to find a phone like the Nokia “tank” – even the cheap key pad phones are nearly all flimsy or easily broken. This however, is all about to change. Caterpillar, AKA CAT are a well known brand in the construction industry providing equipment and protection gear for builders and the like, so it is of no surprise that they have stepped up to fill the gap of a durable, yet practical mobile phone that doesn’t cost the earth.
Today I will be taking a look at the CAT B100 phone – that’s right, not a smartphone that most tech sites are plastered with, but an actual phone with a physical keypad. The B100 is CAT’s answer to the current flimsy phone market for the more active users who demand something that can withstand water and drops, whilst providing more useful features like a camera, torch and glove friendly buttons. Already dubbed the “3310 of today’s phone market”, it has a lot to live up to, so let’s take a look:
FEATURES
- Water*- and dustproof
- Noise-canceling microphone
- Functions in temperatures of -25°C (-13°F) to 55°C (131°F)
- High-quality speaker
- Impact-resistant from a drop of 1.8 meters (5’11”)
- Talk time of up to 10 hours
BATTERY
Type: Removable Lithium Ion
Capacity: 1150 mAh
Talk Time: Up to 10 hours
Standby Time – Single SIM: Up to 23 days
PROCESSOR
Processor: Media Tek MT6276W
Platform/OS: MTK NUCLEUS (version 2.1)
DATA SPEED*
Maximum Downlink Data Rate: 384 Kbps
Maximum Uplink Data Rate: 384 Kbps
SIZE/WEIGHT
Size: 123.5 x 56 x 17.5mm
Weight: 136g
NETWORK
2G: GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Frequency(s): 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
3G: WCDMA/UMTS/ Data 3G voice
Frequency(s): 3G 850/AWS/1900 (USA, Canada, Latin America)
MEMORY
ROM Flash: 128 MB
RAM: 64 MB
Extended Storage: Micro SD Up to 32 GB
User Space: 50 MB
DISPLAY
Display: 2.2″ QVGA 240X320 TFT
Display Cover: PMMC
CAMERA
Main:3 MP Fixed focus 4 x digital zoom
Secondary/Front Facing: Video Capture: Yes QVGA 30 fps
MULTIMEDIA – AUDIO SUPPORTED FORMATS
Playback: AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC, AAC+, MP3, MIDI, WAV, IMY
Recording: AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC
Playback: 3GP, MP4
Recording: H263, H264
CONNECTIVITY
Audio Jack: 3.5 mm
Bluetooth: V2.0 +EDR/A2DP (FTP, OPP, DUN, SPP, A2DP, AVRCP)
Wi-Fi®: No
USB: micro-USB 2.0
RUGGED
IP67 certified: Waterproof up to 1m for 30 mins
Impervious to dust
Military Standard 810G: High Temperature
Low Temperature
Humidity
Temperature Shock
Category 4 Vibration
Shock and Drop
Salt Fog
Drop Test: Up to 1.8 M (6 ft)
TEMPERATURE
Operating Temperature: -25°C(13°F) to 55 °C (131°F)
GPS
GPS: Yes
Internal GPS / Agps
SOUND
Sound Enhancements: HAC M3/T3 (USA, Canada, Latin America)
TTY (USA, Canada, Latin America)
Dual Mic
Loud speaker
OTHER
Other: Charging points on the phone for optional drop in charger
Email / Google Maps on Java(JSR-139, 118, 120, 135, 185, 211, 75) / Predictive Text / OperaMobile browser
MULTIMEDIA – GRAPHIC SUPPORTED FORMATS
GRAPHIC Supported formats GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP
As you can read the B100 has a wide range of features that give it a durable design and good usability.
