I want it, but can’t justify the purchase, so I thought I’d infect someone here with the urge to buy this Android phone bearing the Caterpillar brand.
Besides being waterproof and rugged, it has fricking FLIR thermal vision from both cameras! Did I mention it costs about the same as an iThingy? :eek:
I can finally give something a CAT scan.
(I know, I know. Let me have my moment. :D)
What’s up with that extra tab on the top?
That’s a hump to accommodate the additional (thermal) camera.
Yeah, apparently I was wrong about the thermal being available on both cameras - it’s just the main/rear camera that has it.
BTW, anyone buying one after reading this is required to post back here and let me geek vicariously through them.
If the main appeal is the FLIR sensor, you can get that as an add-on for an Android or iPhone. But this phone is obviously useful for more than that. The waterproofing alone would appeal to a lot of people.
Yeah, I undersold the waterproofing - it can be used as an underwater camera!
I was seriously considering this phone.
[ul]
[li]Rugged/ dropable[/li][li]Bigger/thicker (phones w/of a case are too thin IMO)[/li][li]FLIR - I’ve played with an add-on one to a friend’s ipad before. That one is a joint with the camera, giving the details of a regular photo with the added heat colorization of the IR; very cool![/li][/ul]
However it’s priced like a premium phone @ $600 & depending upon your phone you can get this add-on FLIR & still save money.
I was waiting for the Pixel but don’t think it’s all that at that price. I’m probably getting a Nexus 5X but this is my second choice as of right now.
One thing to note is that the FLIR camera has a resolution of something like 160 x 120. They do some clever blending with a regular camera image to produce something recognizable. It’s still pretty useful, but it’s not exactly HD quality.
I have a FLIR for my iPhone.
I find it a useful diagnostic tool, but if I use it once every two months, it’s a lot.