CAT are becoming a stronger and more recognised brand within the mobile industry.
Their devices have been designed to be rugged.
How does the recently launched CAT S50 compare with the better known CAT B15Q.
One area in which the B15Q and S50 share a common theme, both have the Android OS installed,
version 4.4 out of the box.
One of the most popular operating systems at the moment, it offers you as the user an
excellent array of apps through the Google Play Store as well as a lot of flexibility
in terms of personal customisation.
Drag and drop apps or widgets on the home screen, create folders, change the wallpaper
and ringtone and choose the layout that works for you.
If you have a Google account with your contacts, calendar and emails stored, easily sync these
to your phone and remain constantly up to date.
In both cases, it is virtually stock Android, with little customisation by CAT.
Both the B15Q and S50 have fairly fast quad-core processors which make them pretty responsive.
The S50 and B15Q do use different processors.
Both have positives and negatives.
Generally speaking the Qualcomm processor found inside the S50 is more highly regarded.
The RAM is what allows multiple applications to be running at once.
The more RAM the faster the phone will operate and handle multi-tasking, generally speaking.
Whilst the B15Q is very capable with 1GB the S50 ensures the more demanding user has the
capability to do more at once thanks to 2GB of RAM.
Both devices support microSD memory card expansion which is ideal for files such as videos and
photos that can often take up a lot of space on the internal memory.
The B15Q supports cards up to 32GB in capacity whilst the S50 is tested up to 64GB.
You can find double the internal storage on the CAT S50 which is a real bonus for most
people.
Internal storage is where the operating system is installed as well applications you add
to the device.
The most noticeable difference between the two handsets is the screen.
The physical size of the screen impacts on the physical size of the device.
As the newer of the two, the S50 has a 4.7" display as opposed to the 4" found on the
B15Q.
This is further helped with an increase in screen resolution from 480 x 800 to 720 x
1280.
The S50 has a pixel per inch count of 315 which means more detail, vibrancy, and sharpness
and this is most certainly noticeable when the two handsets are sat side by side.
A smaller and lower resolution screen will generally mean less battery drain, therefore
the B15Q could be the better choice.
However the S50 does have a bigger battery than the B15Q so this additional power draw
is made up for with the larger battery.
Both do have Corning Gorilla Glass so they are more resistive to impact and scratches
and both support wet finger tracking, meaning the screen is more usable in wet conditions.
Both handsets have similar connectivity options but the S50 has two additional features which
could be of more use to you.
The first and more appealing is the addition of 4G support.
The B15Q has support for only 3G.
The S50 also supports USB On The Go (OTG), whereby you can connect a USB memory stick
or hard drive (subject to compatibility) to the phone via a cable.
The S50 boasts an 8 megapixel camera compared to the 5 found on the B15Q.
Truthfully neither device produces images or video results that are going to blow you
away.
Neither device has a particularly feature rich camera interface, sticking with the basic
but hassle free default camera apps.
Both do offer a few nice editing features for improvement post capture.
Both have LED flash.
Whilst image and video results are open to personal opinion, the B15Q in my opinion actually
produces the better image results.
Whilst not perfect the balance of colours and contrast is handled much better.
Both offer digital zoom by pinching on the screen during capture or recording and both
offer a physical shutter button in the form of the torch key.
The S50 does boast HD video recording at 1080p whereas the B15Q does not.
The S50 has an extra 630mAh at its disposal over the 2000mAh found in the B15Q.
The advantages are somewhat reduced because the larger and higher resolution display draws
more power so all told battery to screen size the performance is about equal.
A user removable the battery was on the B15Q, but it is fixed internally on the S50.
This does mean the size of the device is affected for the better on the S50.
Where the S50 has a real advantage is the inclusion of Qi wireless charging.
The S50 can be charged by sitting it on a wireless charging pad or in a wireless charging
enabled car kit.
This means you need not open the fiddly port covers to charge the device.
As intimated earlier, the physical screen size difference means the B15Q measures in
at 125 x 69.5 x 14.95 mm compared to the 140 x 75 x 12.6mm of the S50.
Surprisingly all the features found in the S50 have not made it heavier.
In fact CAT have knocked 30 grams off the S50 to make it 140g as opposed to the 170g
of the B15Q.
Whilst we always advise finding the better suited device for you rather than by deciding
by price, at some point it is likely to be a consideration.
Whilst prices are always changing there is approximately a £100 premium for the S50
over the B15Q.
Both devices have an IP67 rating, meaning immersion in fresh water at a depth of 1 meter
for up to 30 mintues.
Drop either in a puddle, in the sea or down a loo and they should survive.
The Mil Spec 810G rating means either device is certified to withstand falls onto concrete
from a height of 1.8 meters.
Such a rating means that both devices have an added bulk for this protection.
Both have microUSB connectivity, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth and GPS.
Both devices have a 24 month (2 year) warranty, so you are covered should anything go wrong.
Those are the differences explained.
We hope this has been of some benefit to you if you are considering one of the two devices.