Crosscall, the French manufacturer specialising in the design of ultra-resistant and durable smartphones and tablets, will now offer a 5-year warranty on its terminals. The company, which plans to relocate its production to France over the next few years and which had already set itself apart by launching a 3-year warranty, is once again taking a stand in favor of more sustainable telephony. This 5-year warranty is valid on all future models of the French brand but also on the CORE-M5 and ACTION-X5 models launched at the end of the year.
Since 2009, Crosscall, the only 100% French-owned telephony company, has been designing durable, high-performance and innovative smartphones and tablets. This unique know-how in France and a brand DNA that has always been focused on durability, has allowed the Aix-en-Provence-based manufacturer to guarantee its terminals for a period of 5 years, battery included. This new commitment, demonstrating Crosscall’s confidence in the long-term reliability of its products, covers any malfunction or defect. This new long-term warranty is valid on the brand’s upcoming models, and is also retroactive to the recently launched Generation 5 models such as the CORE-M5, which targets businesses and professional users, and the ACTION-X5, the new smartphone with integrated action-cam intended for the general public, which was launched at the end of the year and has already won over many users. As a result, Crosscall product owners can enjoy the peace of mind of having acquired ultra-reliable equipment that they can rely on in any situation for even longer.
On the software side, all smartphones and tablets from the French brand are AER (Android Enterprise Recommended) certified, the most advanced Android certification allowing for frequent security updates – 1 major Android OS update and 3 years of security patch updates from the date of sale – thus guaranteeing increased durability even on the software. Crosscall is also developing a process that will allow it to offer the necessary updates to the operating system of these terminals throughout the warranty period.
INCREASED DURABILITY THANKS TO A UNIQUE DESIGN
Crosscall, which already offered a 3-year warranty since February 2020, is now able to commit to a 5-year warranty to its users thanks to the care taken in the design of its terminals and the continuous improvement of its processes. The experience gained over the past 13 years has indeed proven that the French brand’s terminals can last even longer, as in the case of one of its iconic models, the TREKKER-M1 CORE. Launched in 2016 and still available for sale, this smartphone has defied all expectations in terms of longevity with an SAV return rate of 3.51%, well below the rates of other manufacturers.
It was precisely this search for a reliable, high-performance device that would stand the test of time and situations that led Cyril Vidal, an employee in the industry and a water sports enthusiast, to create Crosscall in 2009. Products based on a common DNA, resistance, waterproofing and autonomy, perfectly meeting the needs of users with an active lifestyle and looking for a smartphone that can accompany them over time. The crazy but winning bet of a Frenchman who wanted to compete with the American and Asian giants while refusing to conform to their diktats. “When I created Crosscall, I wanted to shake up the codes of telephony and offer a sustainable alternative to the user. This is the raison d’être that guides us on a daily basis and will continue to do so in the years to come,” emphasizes Cyril Vidal, president and founder of Crosscall.
To strengthen its expertise, the company integrated a crash-testing and prototyping laboratory at its headquarters in Aix-en-Provence at the end of 2020, the cornerstone of an industrial project to relocate part of its production to France. The manufacturer ensures the durability and reliability of its terminals by carrying out no less than 300 tests designed to reproduce a multitude of situations that users could face with their smartphone.
This design process promotes the durability of smartphones but also their reparability, a prerequisite for extending the product’s life cycle. The brand has committed to a 10-year availability of spare parts and its smartphones have one of the best marks on the market for repairability with an 8.8/10. The aim of this index, which will be introduced in France at the beginning of 2021, is to provide consumers with better information at the time of purchase and to encourage them to keep their equipment for longer, by having it repaired in the event of a breakdown instead of systematically buying a new product.
A NEW DEAL IN THE HIGH-TECH MARKET
With its 5-year hardware warranty, Crosscall also wants to help change the way people consume. By choosing a long-lasting smartphone, a company makes the choice of profitability: it benefits from its mobile fleet for a longer period of time and saves money by limiting the frequent replacement of its fleet. The TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) is optimized and the company can devote the remaining budget to other actions.
The productivity gain, a fundamental element for a company, is also to be taken into account. A broken phone means at best an employee immobilized in his functions and thus a lack of productivity for the company, at worst the life of a person in danger. Indeed, in some sectors, the smartphone is positioned as an all-in-one work tool and replaces the use of other terminals such as walkie-talkies. It also ensures the safety of employees: a power network maintenance worker could be in danger if he is not able to warn in case of an accident. This situation is even more striking in the security/defense sector, where it is essential to be able to communicate easily and at any time to intervene at the scene of an intervention. Crosscall’s teams have taken these needs into account by talking to the various players in this sector, which represents a priority area for development. The French company has been chosen by the Gendarmerie and the National Police to equip law enforcement agencies with more than 230,000 terminals. Many SDIS (Service Départemental d’Incendie et de Secours) have also chosen the strength and reliability of Crosscall smartphones.
At a time when companies are paying more and more attention to their CSR policies and their environmental impact, it has become essential for them to favor sustainable products at all levels, even for their mobile fleets. This way, they avoid buying a new product that leads to the extraction and use of raw materials but also to the consumption of energy necessary to manufacture it. This strategy could be doubly profitable for the company, which could resell its terminals at the end of the contract and thus benefit from a greater return on its initial purchase.
In fact, Crosscall offers the companies it equips, from the beginning of the contract, the possibility of buying back the terminals at the end of the contract. This gives buyers and CIOs a clear and precise view of the investment they are making. In circular economy logic, Crosscall recovers and refurbishes them and then offers them on its website to general public users, as it has been doing since last September. The latter have represented on average 20% and up to 47% of the brand’s smartphone sales. These results support the company’s decision to set up its own refurbishment plant.
Crosscall, which has been working since its creation to offer a more sustainable alternative in the telephone market by opposing technological overkill, is thus extending the life cycle of its products as well as their value over time. The introduction of a 5-year hardware warranty is perfectly in line with users’ new expectations and current social issues.
