The lack of a replacable battery is infuriating because it's planned obselescence of a FLIR device. I got one of the first CAT s60 phones when they came out and tolerated all the android spyware on it because I really liked having a properly ruggedized phone. Got about 4 years out of it.<p>The flir camera I would say I used most often at night for finding my dogs poop to pick up on neighbours lawns in the dark, but I used it on boats to find moisture, motorcycle engine seals to find gasket problems, found contractor fraud where they didn't bother putting insulation behind drywall, and places around windows for caulking to reduce heat loss, heat on horses legs that indicated inflammation, lack of current on wires in my basement. Mostly novelty, but handy.<p>The battery became too flaky to use as a regular phone, so I keep it in my toolbox and use it as a stud finder behind drywall and used to find where animals were getting into the attic of the house. Next test is for rim leaks on car tires. It has been a small time saver, and a fun conversation piece. But yeah, military thermal imaging to find dog poop at night was most common use case.
I used the S62 as a daily driver for a couple of years and it was fairly decent. The convenience of having a thermal camera in your pocket at all times was remarkable, and it's one of those things you kind of miss when it's gone (my daily use for it was checking if the coffee was cool enough to drink--yes, I know my tasting organs provide much of the same functionality...) However, the resolution of the thermal camera wasn't particularly great, and the 9 fps refresh rate was also a bit limiting. Still, for checking for drafts, occasional electronics repairs and a general party trick it was great.<p>Eventually I got a new phone from work, which I grudgingly accepted since I wanted Android 12 and a better visible-light camera, but I missed the thermal cam sufficiently that I got an Infiray P2 off Ali as a plug-in substitute. The resolution and refresh rate are a lot better than the Cat, but having to carry an extra dongle (and plugging it in, starting the app, restarting the app when it crashes...) sometimes makes me consider going back. If/when Cat makes a successor, I'd be very tempted to get it.<p>Edit: The usb-c cam in question for those who are interested <a href="https://www.infiray.com/p2-pro-thermal-camera-for-smartphone.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.infiray.com/p2-pro-thermal-camera-for-smartphone...</a> (available from the usual suspects)
I'm thinking the next scientific instrument turned phone accessory is going to be raman spectroscopes. It could easily solve a lot of problems of things like adulterated food and drugs being so common. There's also research done that shows that many regular consumer phones on the market now have CCDs which are even sensitive enough as-is to read the laser reflection and sort out what the chemical is. There's an implementation here as an add on, but I want to see them embedded in the phones themselves! [1]<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OOA-jwY4Dk" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OOA-jwY4Dk</a>
I've had the competition's ruggedized android phone with a flir camera for a couple of years now? [1]<p>[1] <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001227941445.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001227941445.html</a><p>I don't love it like I did the nokia n900 but it is decent. It's an android that goes underwater, can take photos there and you can drop without being worried about breaking it including the screen - all phones should be like that.<p>The flir camera pics look just like that, haven't really found a use for it yet but I guess I might one day. The endoscope is also a cool idea that hasn't really worked out so well when I've wanted to use it. It works it just an endoscope frequently isn't as useful as you'd hope it could be.<p>Like every single android phone vendor they really need to get out of the business of providing the OS and set it up as a community project so it works the way you want and has upgrades if you want. Not that Apple, controlling everything, are better at this iphone6 now junk etc.
This phone has been out since Spring 2022. Any reason for the post?<p>If we want to talk about the utility of a thermal camera, I found it neat. I used a $150 Seek camera to diagnose poor insulation in my bedroom, and one contractor even offered free advice over email since the images were clear enough. I've also used it to find hot ICs on a PCB. The resolution of these lower cost modules isn't great, which you can see by all the postprocessing they advertise. But it's enough to see which wall is leaky, or which IC needs a heatsink.
No mention about thermal camera resolution, even in the "Full Tech Specs". Although it does mention it's using FLIR Lepton 3.5 sensor. Seems to be 9 fps at 160x120. [0]<p>[0]: <a href="https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/f/flir/lepton-3-radiometry" rel="nofollow">https://www.digikey.com/en/product-highlight/f/flir/lepton-3...</a>
These niche phones never fail to run old versions of Android. This phone runs Android 11, which was released October 4, 2021. Android 13 was released 15 August 2022.
I had an S60 some 4 years ago, also equipped with a FLIR camera and although I tried to love the phone, I simply couldn't.<p>For starters it had a mediocre Snapdragon SoC - better than the average cheapophone, but lacking in a product that was in the premium tier regarding price. The FLIR camera was neat, but inferior to the add-on camera I was using at the time, yet still decent. The cherry on top came when the "ruggedised" phone couldn't cope with normal wear and tear and the plastic started to separate from the case, in a manner similar to the grips in an Xbox Controller Elite game pad that I also owned during that time.<p>At that point I just desisted from having the CAT phone as my mainly driver and mostly relegated it to the role of auxiliary tool just to have it die suddenly on me. I tried to follow CAT's convoluted RMA process (or perhaps their Bullitt licensee who actually make their phones, I can't remember), chock-full of awful chats and sending non-stop repeated information prompts in order to process a return until I realised I bought it from Amazon and just obtained a refund.<p>As I said, I really tried to like the product but my experience was so horrible that I gave up on "working phones" altogether.
$650 160x120 9Hz thermal imager<p>why bother when Chinese are manufacturing ~$200 _25hz_ 256×192 standard USB3 microbolometers? Look up INFIRAY P2 Pro/T2S+, SNDWAY SW-8256 etc<p>mikeselectricstuff: Infiray P2 Pro smartphone thermal camera review & teardown <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMQeXq1ujn0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMQeXq1ujn0</a><p>STS Telecom: Infiray T2S+ Thermal Camera Review <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt1JBA4W6n8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt1JBA4W6n8</a><p>The 25hz part is important because microbolometers are under ITAR restrictions meaning no US/allied manufacturer offers anything over 9Hz to ordinary consumers.
UNI-T UTi260M for Android: USB-C thermal camera with 25hz 256x192 sensor for $400, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/UNI-T-Resolution-Handheld-Durability-Rechargeable/dp/B0BC125VTQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/UNI-T-Resolution-Handheld-Durability-...</a>
I have looked at these a lot and wondered when they'll push the bounds of their thermals-
I have owned some Therm-App cameras(384X288)(640X480), 30 hzsadly no longer sold as of recently - and it's been incredible having mid and HIGH grade thermal phone-based imaging- but a rugged phone is sturdier and more durable, which goes a long way.<p>I want to see 320X240(or the european equiv, 384X288), 640X480, and higher resolution thermals in them! Otherwise we're still hanging out around FLIR One Territory, and the years are going by fast and they aren't pushing the boundary really! Those Leptons are cheap, but haven't changed much! (And yes, FLIR MSX is a thing- but , owning thermal cameras with multiples the resolution- i'd take that over MSX if i had to choose, every time)<p>I see one competitor, the AGM ones like the AGM Glory Ones, (hard to see differences with their top models) , and a few other companies- have Night vision cameras with near-infrared illumination lights, for the user, as well- not just the thermal imaging- It's the dream to see as many different sensors and options in a phone as one can fit.<p>Trust me, they come into use- I've saved multiple pets in the dark in my neighborhood, spotted equipment that was about to ignite, and done so much more with my own thermal cameras- having MORE capabilities- actually goes farther than you can imagine, when you have them...
I really need to get a thermal camera. So many uses. Finding insulation issues, studs in walls, the list is endless. Remember when people were hacking the Flir models to have the specs of the higher end ones?<p><a href="https://hackaday.com/2013/11/04/manufacturer-crippled-flir-e4-thermal-camera-hacked-to-perform-as-high-end-model/" rel="nofollow">https://hackaday.com/2013/11/04/manufacturer-crippled-flir-e...</a><p>You can find hacked ones on ebay too.
Every time I crack my screen I swear that next time I'll get one of those "rugged" phones. My last phone purchase (Asus Zenfone 8); lasted exactly 2 weeks before I cracked the screen on my bathroom floor. I was worried about having "only" 128Gb of storage; guess I should have been more concerned about that screen. Nice device though...
The Ulefone 18t just lanched with the same flir sensor, but android 12, 12gb ram, 256gb flash. 9000mha battery and endoscope accessory attachment, same durability specs, marginaly cheaper.
You can also consider buying a FLIR ONE accessory for your Android or iOS device<p><a href="https://www.flir.ca/flir-one/" rel="nofollow">https://www.flir.ca/flir-one/</a>
The first time I heard that acronym, I thought it was the biggest stretch to make in to a word. Forward Looking?? Yeah Im going to forward looking walk to your house.
Specialized devices based on general purpose devices like these are almost always a poor value proposition.<p>You're getting a crummy phone nowhere near as good as flagships from Apple, Google, and Samsung, just because you can get a FLIR camera integrated.<p>Why not just buy one of these? <a href="https://industrial-reviews.com/smartphone-thermal-camera/" rel="nofollow">https://industrial-reviews.com/smartphone-thermal-camera/</a>
I want to warn people that Cat phones are not “good phones”<p>They are cheapo Chinese Android phones, with a gimmick. The gimmick can work for some people, sure. Didn’t work for me.
Since Apple started making phones out of freekin glass, I have only bought rugged phones. One problem I had with my Cat was that the compass did not work properly (inaccurate and erratic). This made using Google maps almost impossible. I had the same problem with my rugged Doogeee. My rugged Nokia is a lot better, but is woefully under powered.<p>In my efforts to find the perfect rugged phone, I honestly feeling like I am chasing butterflies.
Saw it on LinusTechTips and had to pause the video for a moment, thats a very very useful feature, not much else to add. The phone is certainly being targeted towards professionals which at least from me takes the shine away to a degree, as the features I would love to go along with it such as AI assisted night vision or the 3.5mm audio jack won't be in it<p>It is certainly on my radar wherever my current phone finally kicks the bucket so to speak
Remember when there was a period of time when camera manufacturers dabbled with adding FLIR to their consumer cameras? Sony did that and some others tried to follow, but it all was quickly wrapped up due to a massive amount of abuse. The cameras were mainly used to film women rather than to identify thermal leaks in insulation.<p>Probably <i>the</i> reason for the subpar FLIR resolution on this phone as well.
I wonder what the performance will be with such a small sensor and aperture. Usually FLIR scopes have massive apertures to collect as much light as possible. Medium wave infrared signals are extremely weak compared to visual light, and so sensors either have to be cryogenically cooled to allow for large gain with little noise or a large aperture to collect enough light. Or better yet, both.
We just finished a project where we spec'd catphones for a remote rugged data collection system.<p>The Cat42 is based on a mediatek chipset and gave us "meh" performance. BT/BLE was underwhelming compared to other phones. I'd recommend something like an Cat53 or 62 with Qualcomm guts instead.
Sony had a camera with thermal, stopped selling it because it saw through people's clothes.<p><a href="https://fossbytes.com/sony-accidentally-launched-camcorders-see-peoples-clothes/" rel="nofollow">https://fossbytes.com/sony-accidentally-launched-camcorders-...</a>
Anyone know the resolution of the FLIR camera?
Specs don't seem to list the thermal camera resolution, only up-res one. The last revision was kind of weak, low-res with a max of only 120°C or so, if memory serves right. The improvement to : -20°C to 400°C is a happy step forward.
This would almost be better off being marketed as a thermal camera with a cellular connection. This would have been handy during my commissioning days, removing the tedious steps of getting the files from the camera to a computer to the cloud or sending someone a live view.
Wow the first of these phones were made in 2013! This is the first I am hearing of this phone. These are obviously selling enough to keep churning out newer versions. The FLIR camera is also something I have never thought about, quite a good option to have some times.
Oddly enough I just bought a used Blackview BV9800 Pro phone today purely for the FLIR camera in it. At $140 CAD it was much much cheaper than any of the off the shelf new FLIR options.
Unless you need the thermal functionality a dozen times a day you're better off buying a $200 IR add-on camera you'll be able to use for a decade or more.
I want a second phone with FLIR for fun and profit, but I don't want a heavy duty like existing Ulefone one. Maybe it's better to buy a external USB FLIR.
You can get FLIR One cameras with Lightning and USB-C (for iPhone and Android respectively) for $300. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/FLIR-ONE-Thermal-Imaging-Camera/dp/B07DM8DG1B/" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/FLIR-ONE-Thermal-Imaging-Camera/dp/B0...</a><p>It isn't as good as the FLIR on the Cat phone, but if you're one of those people going "Man, having a FLIR around the house would be cool" - this is the solution for you. And it will outlive your phone...so long as you don't change "sides" in the OS Wars.
Why did FLIR catch on instead of just IR? Is it because it sounds cool to be military-like?<p>Does anyone expect the IR to look any other direction than forward on a phone?
Two of my mates run these phones, and while the FLIR camera is cool (and extremely handy for fault finding in HV switchboards and so forth), the rest of the phone is quite lacklustre.
Wow, it has 128 GB of ROM! Upgradable to 256 GB! I wonder what's with the operating system that takes up so much space. And no mention of user storage.