Crosscall Action-X5: an off-road mobile for those who seek resistance but also protect the environment

An ultra-resistant smartphone with qualities that the technological market does not usually contemplate

Ultra-resistant or rugged mobiles are supposedly aimed at a public that carries out demanding tasks in extreme environments. Or to athletes who value the resistance of the product and look for quality. But they are a shopping destination for those chasing a greener alternative, so to speak. Crosscall’s latest model, the Action-X5 has some amazing features . We have tested it for a week and the verdict has surprised us. pleasantly.

In hand it has a weight very similar to that of the iPhone 13 Max: it weighs 238 grams, while the Action-X5 does not reach 236 grams. In other words, despite the entire roughening process (the systems it uses to make it ultra-resistant) it is not heavier than others that do not have a resistance treatment .

What does ruggedization mean? The Crosscall Action-X5 adds the US MIL-STD-810H military certification , a standard that evaluates devices by subjecting them to extreme temperature tests (below -25ºC and above 50ºC), humidity, direct fire, acid corrosion , etc. Suffice it to say that if you drop it down the toilet (and hit the edges squarely first) the screen will hardly break and will still work great. Added to this is hardware that, although not high-end, is more than enough and meets the expectations of the average user: Snapdragon 662, 4/64 GB, 5.43-inch screen and HD+ resolution, 4,850 mAh battery , dual SIM and expandable memory up to 512 GB. If we add to that the 48 and 13 MP camerasand a front wide angle, also 13 MP, it is a very tempting device.

But there are other features that make it different. For starters, it has the well-regarded and never-overweighted 3.5mm jack, perfect for old-fashioned headsets. Second, the proprietary software and no extraneous programs, makes the battery last up to 48 hours with average use. On paper it doesn’t go that far, but it does comfortably exceed 24 hours . Due to the nature of its use, it can also be used as a walkie talkie to communicate with other Crosscalls. It also includes a fingerprint sensor: it is located on the side and the truth is a bit small. But it makes up for this with up to four customizable buttons. One feature that was surprising was the loudness of the speaker: 100 decibels.If we take into account that this is the volume of a car horn about five meters away, it is more than enough to listen to messages in noisy environments.

To all this we must add the “green” or environmental aspect . Being rugged greatly reduces the need for replacement parts, in fact the Crosscall Action-X5 has a 5 year warranty and they guarantee the availability of spare parts for 10 years . But should it be needed, this phone ranks highest in the repairability index.. What exactly does this mean? This index is a legal obligation for French resellers and operators (Crosscall headquarters) and indicates a repairability score for each smartphone. The score is calculated based on a set of criteria, such as availability of spare parts and ease of disassembly. The goal is to reduce electronic waste. The higher the score, the better the repairability and the longer the product life.

Last year, the EU Commission presented its Circular Economy Action Plan and in it incorporated the ability to repair electronic devices to ensure that the product does not become obsolete too soon. In this ranking , the latest models from Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, Huawei… all oscillate between a 4 and a 6. Crosscall is at the top of the table with a 9 , which shows that the availability of spare parts, disassembly and ease of repair, much easier. In this way it manages to avoid electronic waste and reduces its environmental impact.

The Crosscall Action-X5 is available in black for 549.90 dollars.

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