Test: Some time ago we introduced you to the current top smartphone from Caterpillar, the CAT S50. After it in the first part of our report When it came to the technical data, we had quite a while to test the supposedly indestructible cell phone on our bikes and outdoors.
The Caterpillar CAT Universal Bike Mount
We chose the Caterpillar CAT S50 as our companion on extensive trail tours through the southern German forests. Here it was primarily used as a navigation device, but we also tested its functionality as a fitness tracker. But right at the beginning we were faced with the big problem: What is the best way to attach our smartphone to the handlebars or stem? While there are some dedicated bike mounts for more popular cell phones like Samsung's Galaxy series or Apple's iPhone, we had to resort to a universal mount for the CAT S50. In our targeted area of use, however, it had to be stable enough not to give up on the first rough trail. It's a good thing that Caterpillar also offers a universal mount here, which is of course also compatible with their own top model: the CAT Universal Bike Mount.
The mounting of the holder is self-explanatory and requires no tools: It is nice that not only the mobile phone holder itself is designed to be as universal as possible, but also the attachment to the handlebars. This is screwed to the handlebars with rubberized clamping jaws and can be hung in four different places in order to find sufficient support on any handlebar, no matter how thick or thin. We did the test and it didn't matter whether it was 25,4mm in diameter or even the new, voluminous 35mm standard: the bracket could always be mounted firmly.
The cell phone is clamped to a detachable plate by two parts coated with thick foam rubber. This works better than we initially thought: thanks to the non-slip top of the holder and the thick foam rubber, the CAT S50 stays in place - at least for the moment. The mounting plate is in turn connected to the handlebar mount via a ball joint. This has great advantages: On the one hand, the position of the mobile phone can be adjusted very quickly and easily and, on the other hand, the smartphone can be turned from portrait to landscape format or vice versa in no time at all. But where there is light, there is also shadow: The ball joint can be fixed with a screw, but no matter how hard we tighten the latter, with a little effort the bracket can still be moved - will that hold up on the trail? We will see. Another disadvantage is the overall very high construction. Due to the large distance from the handlebars, there is of course a long lever in the event of a fall and will the bracket, which is made entirely of plastic, survive a serious impact? We have our doubts.
navigation and battery performance
But enough about the mount and back to the actual test object: the CAT S50. We use the free OruxMaps as navigation software. When it comes to maps, we rely on the popular OpenStreetMap project. The performance of the Snapdragon 400 processor in the Caterpillar cell phone is easily sufficient to display the software smoothly. We are also very impressed by the excellent GPS performance: We usually had a satellite fix after a few seconds and the signal never broke even in poor weather conditions or under small bridges. Unfortunately, the compass caused us a little more problems: During our test phase lasting several months, it "forgot" its calibration from time to time and had to be laboriously realigned via the app. Less tech-savvy users would probably quickly get frustrated here. Of course, it can also be navigated without a compass, but that makes things much more difficult.
Now we come to the two perhaps most exciting points for everyday use: display and battery performance. Let's start with the positive: The 2.630mAh, built-in battery in the CAT S50 is amazing. On our tours, the display is always active at full brightness, WLAN and Bluetooth are deactivated, but the GPS is of course always active. We also disabled LTE to save additional power. With these settings, we get about 6-7 hours of runtime before the cell phone has to be plugged in again - a really very good value. It is a pity, however, that the battery is permanently installed, otherwise you could simply double the mileage with a second replacement battery. So you have to rely on a socket or an external battery such as a power bank.
Display and trail suitability
Unfortunately, the verdict on the display is less positive: While it achieves decent values in terms of sharpness and contrast, the brightness leaves something to be desired, which can of course be a big annoyance, especially in outdoor use. In direct sunlight, the display is often difficult to read. Here it is then either looking for a shady spot or cumbersome by hand for the latter worries. Unfortunately, this fact is a big minus point in terms of outdoor suitability. Another problem is the fact that the touchscreen is very sensitive to moisture or rain. Although the CAT S50 survived one or two rain showers completely unscathed, the mobile phone used itself as if by magic when it got wet, since the drops are often interpreted as finger inputs. The only remedy: the display has to be switched off during rain showers.
As mentioned at the beginning, we in no way limit ourselves to forest highways in our test, but also do not shy away from putting the Caterpillar and its mount to a hard test with carpets of roots and stony trails. The mount performs surprisingly well here. After the smartphone slipped out of the holder several times at the beginning, we track down the cause of this: If you mounted the S50 in portrait format, it slips down bit by bit due to the constant shaking and says goodbye. But after we put the holder sideways, even the nastiest trail was no longer able to get the phone out of the holder. By the way: The S50 withstood the falls on the partly hard forest floor almost unscathed. The ball joint and the handlebar mount slipped a few times during our tests and had to be readjusted a bit after the descent. We and the Caterpillar have been spared falls so far.
interim conclusion
So what is our interim conclusion after a few rides? Both the bracket and the CAT S50 surprised us positively in some areas. The Urban Active Mount is amazingly durable and, with a few tricks, also absolutely suitable for trails. Above all, the S50 proved to be an endurance runner and offered us a really excellent battery life of 7 hours. Unfortunately, the display and the touchscreen were less convincing in daily use.
In the next part of our test, we will focus on the outdoor suitability of the two cameras and of course the holder and mobile phone will have to survive one or the other rough ride until then - after all, the season is only just beginning.
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