The CAT S31 smartphone had been announced back in August last year during IFA, and we actually managed to get some hands-on time with the phone at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. This handset actually arrived to the US last month, and considering it’s a CAT phone, it’s rather easy to guess that this is a rugged smartphone. If you take a look at the gallery down below, you’ll be able to check out this smartphone more closely, as you’ll find a number of hands-on images there.
The CAT S31 comes with three physical navigation keys below its display, while a single camera is placed on the phone’s back side. This phone is not exactly thin, but it sits in the hand pretty well, as it’s not as slippery as most modern smartphones. The CAT S31 has that octagon shape that we’re used to seeing from CAT, and the phone is not all that big despite the fact it sports rather large bezels. The main reason why is this phone still rather compact is its display, as the device sports a 4.7-inch HD (1280 x 720) panel. The company’s branding is present on both the phone’s front and back sides, while CAT decided to place Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 protection on top of this phone’s display. This is an entry-level smartphone, it is fueled by the Snapdragon 210 64-bit quad-core processor, and Android 7.0 Nougat comes pre-installed on the device. An 8-megapixel shooter is placed on the back of the CAT S31, while a 2-megapixel snapper comes on the front side of the phone. This handset is IP68 certified for water and dust resistance, while it has a drop-to-concrete resistance as well, it is drop resistant up to 1.8m. MIL-STD-810G rating is also in place here, the phone is salt, dust, rain, vibration, humidity, solar radiation, transport and thermal shock resistant. A 4,000mAh non-removable battery is included on the inside of the device, while it comes in both single and dual SIM variants, depending on where you buy it. The CAT S31 is priced at $329.99, while it is a bit more expensive in Europe, as it costs €329 ($393).
The Cat S31 actually resembles the CAT S41 quite a bit, but the two devices sport completely different specs. The Cat S41 is essentially a more powerful handset than the CAT S41, as it comes with more RAM, larger display with higher resolution, and a more powerful processor. Interestingly enough, the CAT S41 actually comes with one of MediaTek’s chips, the Helio P20, and not Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoC. This may not be a bad thing in this case, as the Helio P20 is one of MediaTek’s mid-range processors, and it trumps the entry-level Snapdragon 210 in the performance department. Rugged smartphones definitely have its market, and CAT is amongst the most popular smartphone manufacturers of rugged handsets, so if you’re in the market for a rugged phone, the CAT S31 is worth taking a look, unless you’re looking for something with more power, in that case, the CAT S41 is a better bet for you.
