You know what we don’t see enough of? Tablets. Everyone knows that Samsung and Apple have offerings, there are a bunch of discount options from all over the place but if it’s not a big name, people don’t really pay attention. Perhaps Crosscall, with its new Core-T4 rugged tablet, will be able to make you change your mind about that.

Going hard

First off, the Crosscall Core-T4 is an 8in tablet, with a 1,280 x 800 resolution. It packs a 7,000mAh battery, made up of two 3,500Mah batteries working in tandem. Load shedding probably won’t surprise you too hard with this one. In terms of internals, there’s 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage as standard, with space for a microSD card and dual SIM cards. You’re supposed to take this thing on the road, after all. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 450 is running the show. In terms of spec, it’s adequate but not exactly top of the range. Then again, that’s not why you want one of these.

The Crosscall Core-T4 is rugged. Seriously rugged. It’s MIL-STD-810 tested, so it’s rated for military use. Part of this is an IP68 rating, meaning you’ll battle to drown it. It’ll endure temperatures between -25° to 50°, so it should handle the toughest conditions South Africa can throw at it. The 13MP camera can apparently even take photographs underwater, while it’ll survive drops onto concrete from 1.5 metres. Don’t actually do this, but it should stay intact. That’s the toughened Gorilla Glass 3 layer at work, plus that chassis.

But the crucial thing is the price. The Crosscall Core-T4 will set you back some R11,000 here in SA. That’s high for an 8in tablet, but it’s not really aimed at the casual user. Crosscall has its eye on South Africa’s mining and agriculture industries for the Core-T4, though we reckon guys who 4×4 regularly or own a Ford Ranger will probably also check this one out.