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Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar makes tough Android phone


What do you get when you cross a Caterpillar and an Android? One heck of a tough smartphone, obviously.
 
Caterpillar, known for its tractors and heavy equipment, introduced the B15 at the Mobile World Congress, tech site T3 reported.
 
“The Cat B15 is one of the most exciting launches in the rugged mobile device sector, a handset that will with stand seriously tough conditions, whilst remaining distinctively designed,” T3 quoted Dave Floyd, director of technology at Bullitt Mobile Ltd., which acts as a global licensee for Cat phones, as saying.
 
“We strongly believe that Cat Phones will drive the popularity and growth of the underserved global rugged device market, and our ambition is to be the number one global rugged device handset by 2015,” he added.
 
Caterpillar said the B15 will be available starting March, and will set buyers back by £299 (P18,444).
 
T3 said the B15 is protected by silver anodized aluminum and shock absorbent rubber, and can stand falls of up to 1.8 meters on concrete.
 
It is also dust-resistant and waterproof up to one meter, for up to 30 minutes, and can operate in temperatures from -20°C to 50°C.
 
Powering the smartphone is a dual-core 1GHz Cortex A9 processor running Google's Android Jelly Bean.
 
Meanwhile, the 4-inch WVGA screen features the ultra-tough Gorilla Glass and allows wet finger tracking, though resolution may be relatively low at 800 x 480 pixels.
 
"So don't expect 1080p video breaks on your downhill mountain biking excursions," T3 said.
 
T3 also said the B15 uses 512MB RAM and features 4GB of native storage, which can be boosted with a microSD card.
 
IP67 rating
 
A separate article on Pocket-Lint.com said the B15 has an IP67 rating, "meaning it’s waterproof and impervious to dust (within given parameters)."
 
"With those sorts of credentials it should survive life in the great outdoors, or just the sort of environment that Cat’s vehicles might be found rolling around in," it added.
 
But it also noted the B15 will not likely win awards for svelteness: it measures 125 x 69.5 x 14.95 mm and weighs 170 grams. — TJD, GMA News
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