Tuga A8 £379
Clik Jobs asks very little of a device on paper: Android 5.0 or later, with no RAM or storage figure. What decides the choice is the work the listing describes, job sheets, photos, signatures and a day of GPS tracking between sites, done by engineers who live in a van. The Tuga A8 runs Android 12 with Google Play, seven versions above the published minimum, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for a cached database of customers, equipment and job images. Its 8 inch screen is large enough for a job sheet and a signature without being too big for one hand on a ladder, and at 1000 nits it stays readable on a roof plant deck. The 8000mAh battery is removable, so a charged spare covers a long day of callouts, and VESA mount points and a pogo pin connector let it lock into the vehicle mounting dock and come out as a site tablet. It is sealed to IP67 and the 13MP autofocus rear camera has a flash for photographs behind boilers and inside panels. The trade-offs are an Android 12 release that is older than the A6 or A10, no MIL-STD rating and a 1280 x 800 screen; the one thing to do before buying several is run Clik Jobs on one, because the app's last update predates Android 12 being current.
- Requirement: Android 5.0 or later from Google Play. Tuga A8: Android 12 with Google Play, so the published minimum is met.
- Requirement: job sheets, photos and customer signatures on screen. Tuga A8: 8 inch IPS 1280 x 800 at 1000 nits with AGC glass; 13MP autofocus rear camera with flash; the capacitive stylus accessory fits it.
- Requirement: offline working between syncs. Tuga A8: 6GB RAM, 128GB storage with a microSD slot, dual SIM 4G LTE and Wi-Fi for the sync when a connection returns.
- Requirement: GPS routes sent back to the office. Tuga A8: GPS + GLONASS + Galileo + BeiDou.
- Requirement: a device that lives in the van. Tuga A8: IP67, removable 8000mAh battery, VESA mount points and a pogo pin dock connector; fits the vehicle mounting dock.