CAT S60 smartphone Samsung Gear 360 Tp-link Wi-fi extender

See like Predator

YEARS AGO, when we first had an anti-theft alarm system installed at home, I asked for a pet-friendly infrared motion detector in the sun room. You see, the cats needed somewhere sunny and cosy to spend most of their (considerable) non- waking hours. Sadly, it was all a waste of time. Countless false alarms later, we learnt from our helpful-afterthe-fact alarm installer that cats can get really toasty after hours curled up dreaming of mouse pie. As a result, when they stir briefly to roll over, that extra body heat is sufficient to trigger the alarm. Well, that’s what he said.

This is probably not why the CAT S60 exists, but to underline the evidence of my own touch, the S60’s infrared camera shows clearly that a sleeping cat can get pretty cosy. (Along with this cosiness goes a certain grumpiness displayed as a vicious nip at the nearest finger, I discovered.)

The S60 is more or less brand spanking new to the market, having been launched at midyear. It’s the flagship model in a range that has included rugged models designed in the CAT ethos: big, bold and chunky. In the S60, though, the brand takes that line of thinking several steps further with the world’s first built-in IR camera.

Before you even get to that point, though, you will need to adapt to the S60’s heft. Not only is this device a handful – twice as thick as the typical smartphone – it weighs a formidable 223 grams.

Despite the heft, though, the S60 does evince a certain style by combining the sleekness of aluminium edging with the I-mean-business mien of textured plastics. Rugged? Certainly enough to convince Leatherman-toting individuals, I’d say. Having said that, one minor consequence of the S60’s weight in the context of the softish metal finish resulted in an ugly gouge when accidentally dropped on edge.

IN OPERATIONOPER

The S60’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS runs li like you’d expect, with some dedicated CAT features that add rather than detractde from the experience. For anyon anyone who has ever used an Android phone,p then, operating the S60 is like riding a bicycle. What does set the S60S6 apart in one important respect is that it’s been designed with several of its controls as hardware buttons. Again,A a tick for those with multitool inclinations and certainly a welcome touch for those of us who can’t stan stand touchscreen-biased operation or ha having to drill down through menus to find so-called shortcuts.

Speakin Speaking of which, there’s a handy programm programmable key, identified by its yellow col colour. You can set it up to activate a custom shortcut with a single key keypress. Nice.

Another handy one-touch feature is the SOS key.k It’s able to transmit a custom SMSSM message, including your current location,l to up to three predefined contacts.

One area I was a little concerned about was the seemingly flimsy SIM and SD card flap; the card locations themselves are a little fiddly, even with my smallish fingers. (The S60 features dual SIM slots.)

Yet, in spite of all that, the S60 has another impressive party trick: it really is waterproof. I didn’t have the courage to dangle it underwater for the maximum allowable period, though in brief but firm dunkings it got sufficiently wet without apparent harm. What’s more, by flicking two miniswitches that activate lockout valves,

TEST NOTES

* Camera is not the swiftest out of the starting blocks, but in complete darkness, Predator would trade IR vision for speed. * For professionals in the field, a heman’s smartphone with convenient, easy operation and a superpower you can’t match without spending more or trading off multitool-like convenience.

it is good for an hour submerged at 5 metres, at the cost of not being able to record sound. I’m told that it is actually capable enough to be used as an underwater camera.

But you really want to know about the embedded Lepton thermal microcamera module supplied by the global leaders in thermal imaging, FLIR.

We’re reasonably certain that we’d be quite happy to want an infra-red function, but is there any great need for it? Well, to anyone who has a need to quickly compare or measure the performance of materials, even those hidden under insulation, IR is a godsend. Temperature gradients, colour-coded, can show you at a glance how things are going. Engineers and plumbers come to mind.

The naked eye can’t see if insulation has broken down, but the S60 can. According to CAT, you can even check gas cylinder levels or find the freshest loaf of bread. And, of course, see in the dark.

To emphasise that this is intended as a truly useful tool like FLIR’S stand-alone product line, and not just a gimmick, you can use thermal imaging in real time, video, compare it with the original image and get multiple spot readings. Naturally this depends on your subject’s emissivity or ambient conditions, but for most practical purposes your readings will be sufficiently accurate on their own and certainly comparable with each other. There’s a facility to realign the normal and FLIR cameras in the event that they drift out of alignment, too.

Finally, in addition to its impressive ruggedness and high-tech imaging, the S60 has a surprisingly sophisticated multimedia set-up, with the ability to play audiophile FLAC audio files natively, for instance. On the minus side, its display is not up with the leaders in this price bracket and, in general, that can be taken as a comment on its overall performance. Having said that, there is no other device with its skill set and, for the professional or user whose performance needs are focused on very specific areas – think extreme activity – it will need no sales pitch. - Anthony Doman