[section_title title=Final Thoughts]Final Thoughts
It’s not everyday you see a brand associated with construction machinery and gear jump on the mobile bandwagon, but when you do, you would expect a tough, durable phone that withstand the day to day punishment it would receive on a building site. The B100 is a great example of where design meets practicality as not only is it one of the toughest phones I have come across, but it also looks like a normal, compact mobile phone, something you wouldn’t expect from a device that withstand a wide range of different punishments.
To actually test out the much boasted about durability of the phone, I conducted a few tests of my own which covered the features that a typical mobile phone does not have: these were the waterproof test, drop test and call quality test. The waterproof test was pretty straightforward, I just fully submerged the phone in a bath, and continued to use it. I was incredibly nervous at first, as you would expect from dunking any electronic item in water, but I was reassured by a fully functioning phone. To really push it’s limits I even left it in for 45 minutes – and it still worked! (although it was not at the rated 1m depth). The drop test was also just as simple, I dropped it from the height of 1.5m and even 2m onto a hard surface – for the phone to just bounce across the floor, yet still remaining intact and fully functional. The call quality test was conducted outside our office as we actually had the fortune of having some roadworks done – ideal for testing out the noise cancelling properties of the B100. I made a call with both the B100 and the Nexus 4, with the B100 coming out a clear winner in call quality.
Battery-wise, the small screen makes this a strong point of the B100. It boasts a massive 10 hours talk time (you get around 3 – 5 with most smartphones) and a whopping 23 days on standby, making it a much more suitable phone if you are on the move and require the ability to make and take a lot of phone calls, without having to take a break and charge your phone.
Using the phone is incredibly easy – albeit you have to use the directional keys to navigate to where you want to go. The B100 has all the standard features you’d expect from a phone of this calibre – messaging, basic email (and I mean very basic), address book, calendar etc. I was not expecting a whole plethora of apps with this phone as I knew it was aimed purely at durability and usability – not for multimedia applications and leisure, however it does feature a loud speaker – a high quality one at that, and a camera complete with an LED flash, which can also be used as a torch. However the phone does not have any wifi abilities and web browsing is pretty dire, although these features are not something that the phone was created for – you have it’s older brother, the B15 for that (which we’ll take a look at soon).
Overall I am pleased with the B100 – it’s great to see a reputable brand take a step back from the already crowded and extremely competitive market, to create a phone that is designed purely around usability and life. Whilst it does not have any decent means of browsing the web, it is however very functional – it does what it says on the tin and a bit more, but can also take a beating. The large buttons are ideal for anyone wearing gloves and the superior call quality, with thanks to the noise-cancelling mic, makes it a clear winner for anyone who has an active vocation in a noisy environment. Coming in at around £149, it is fairly steep considering the limted features, however before the B100, you should expect to pay a more considerable sum to get a phone of this quality and durability, so it isn’t really that expensive.
I spend a fair amount of my job on construction sites, so I can understand the need for a phone like the CAT B100, so much so that I would recommend it to anyone who is in a similar position and doesn’t require a smartphone that drinks the juice or breaks on the smallest of drops.
