France-headquartered outdoor mobile technology specialist Crosscall has launched a new range of rugged and durable mobile devices in South Africa, all equipped with an industry-first three-year warranty.
The latest suite of devices from the French brand includes three new smartphones and a tablet, all adapted to hostile and unpredictable environments.
The new Core range, comprising the Core-T4 tablet, the high-end Core-X4, the Core-M4 and the Core-M4 Go, was designed primarily for professionals, and designed according to the specific uses of various vertical business lines.
Crosscall is taking aim, with its new product range, at an increasingly wide customer base, who want a different kind of phone, with a longer life span and which is adaptable to all types of daily activities.
“For us, this step represents the first of many in a project that consists of moving away from consumer-oriented telephony to telephony based on user needs and sustainability,” said Crosscall founder and president Cyril Vidal during the media launch on July 16.
“Our brand is based on the idea that a phone is made to meet the needs of its users, to fit their lifestyle and to last, no matter what environment it is exposed to. Putting the user at the centre of our products' design and committing to their durability is where the true innovation lies,” he added.
Founded by Vidal in 2009, the group has spent ten years developing and establishing high quality standards, validated by more than 80 laboratory tests and hundreds of field testers verifying the technical capabilities and use of the products.
It had also built trustworthy relationships with industrial partners who implement precise assemblies and use high-quality components that are themselves tested, proven and sustainable over the long term.
Crosscall product director Bertrand Czaicki highlighted the IP68-rated and US military standard devices’ complete resistance to liquids, dust, shocks, scratches and falls of up to 2 m, efficient charging systems, long battery life and fully integrated accessories ecosystem.
The range also handles extreme temperatures from -25 °C to 50 °C.
Crosscall VP David Eberlé said the company is targeting the industry verticals with products designed to cope with the harshest and critical mission environments, including that of the mining, construction, agriculture, retail and distribution, security and defence, and transport and logistics sectors.
The devices are fully compatible with the main enterprise management players.
“With durable smartphones, there is obviously less breakage, meaning companies no longer have to renew or replace their mobile fleet so regularly and this means lower total cost of ownership over the long term,” said Crosscall South Africa sales director Julien Furiot.
Further, every device is provided with a first-ever three-year warranty.
“The new three-year warranty will certainly be revolutionary in the telecommunications space as well as industries such as mining and manufacturing, where the need for a durable, reliable device is a necessity. With this shift and welcome addition to the market, businesses will start to see a significant return on investment on Crosscall devices,” he said.
The prices of the new range start from R5 399 for the compact Core-M4 Go up to R10 999 for the eight-inch screen tablet.
The Core-T4 tablet, the first tablet to be certified Android Enterprise Recommended (AER) by Google, has a Qualcomm 450 processor, 3/32 GB memory and two sim slots.
The top of the range ergonomic, high-performance Core-X4 smartphone, also AER certified, incorporates the Qualcomm Snapdragon SDM 450 processor, Wet Touch and Glove Touch functions, a high quality 48MP photo / video sensor, two programmable buttons and a triple sim drawer that holds two sim cards and a micro SD card.
The Core-M4, available from August, is an efficient, compact, resistant, robust, waterproof and reliable, 5-inch 18:9 screen smartphone, especially adapted for corporate fleets.
The device boasts a Qualcomm 215 processor and 2/16 GB of memory, runs on Android 9 and has dual-sim functionality.
The simplified and more affordable Core-M4 Go, meanwhile, will be available from September.
The device is equipped with a lightweight Android version (Android Go) and, like the other devices in the Core range, is adapted to all environments and ultraresistant.
Crosscall is currently pursuing its international development with a presence in several countries worldwide, including South Africa, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia and Senegal, as well as Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, besides others.
Discussions are underway to expand into more countries soon.