S75

At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsSatellite commsDeep water immersionLightweight for a rugged phoneWireless chargingConsSatellite only handles messagingLimited satellite coverage for nowSatellite SIM blocks SD card slotOnly 1080p video recordingOur VerdictFor a similar price, there are mobile phones with superior specifications, but they cannot transmit messages outside of cell phone tower coverage. That one unique feature might justify its high asking price for some users. There has been a dry spell in CAT-branded…

Whether for work, adventure or disaster preparedness, you may need a way to communicate that doesn’t rely on the cell network. Right up until the end of last year that meant carrying a separate device – be it a satellite phone or something text oriented like the Garmin inReach Messenger. Satellite communications are now starting to feature on select smartphones. We saw it with Apple’s new iPhones, but those are fairly limited in functionality – they can connect you to emergency services or they can send out your…

Motorola Defy, CAT S75 price, availability The Motorola Defy 2 and CAT S75 smartphones have been launched at $599 (~ Rs 49,677) and £549 (~ Rs 54,386) respectively. The Motorola Defy will cater to North American, Latin American, and Canadian markets and includes a 12-month subscription to the Essential plan. The CAT S75 smartphone in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and includes a three-month free Bullitt’s Essentials service trial. The Essential pack starts at $4.99 (~ Rs 414) and gets 30 two-way messages per month…

The iPhone 14 series brought support for SOS services over satellite, opening the doors to satellite communications. The next step after emergency services is actual communication over satellite. That’s what the Motorola Defy 2 and Cat S75 that Bullitt announced on Friday will offer buyers. The rugged phones feature the MediaTek MT6825 chipset that was also announced on Friday. The chip can enable two-way satellite texting on any smartphone. Motorola Defy 2 The $599 Android phone launches in the…

As promised, the Bullitt Group has unveiled the first phone with 2-way satellite messaging. Well, two phones, actually, the Cat S75 and the Motorola defy 2. We’ll cover the Motorola in a separate post. Before we dive into the specs of Cat S75, we should explain the direct-to-satellite communication feature as that is a unique selling point. Unlike Apple’s solution which is only for contacting emergency services, this one allows you to message friends and family from faraway locations – be it a desert or the middle of…

The Cat S75 rugged 5G smartphone with Bullitt Satellite Connect. Image: Bullitt GroupRugged smartphones designed for mission-critical (e.g. emergency workers and first responders), business-critical (e.g. transport, logistics), and outdoor hobbyist (e.g. hiking, skiing) use cases are widely available, but lack a key ingredient: if no cellular or Wi-Fi connection is available -- and there are large areas, even in developed countries, where that's the case -- they have no means of communicating. There are dedicated…