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Android in The Enterprise: An It Management Ebook

Android is starting to branch beyond phones into netbooks, notebooks, and other devices. Android already outsells the iPhone in all markets -- Motorola reports it can't keep up. New Android 2.2 OS makes it easy for enterprises to use Android phones.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
96 views12 pages

Android in The Enterprise: An It Management Ebook

Android is starting to branch beyond phones into netbooks, notebooks, and other devices. Android already outsells the iPhone in all markets -- Motorola reports it can't keep up. New Android 2.2 OS makes it easy for enterprises to use Android phones.

Uploaded by

Gopal Sharma
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

Android in the

Enterprise

an IT Management eBook
Contents…
Android in the Enterprise

This content was adapted from Internet.com’s CIO Update, Enterprise Mobile Today, and
Developer.com websites. Contributors: Robert McGarvey, Keith Vance, Shane Conder
and Lauren Darcey.

2
2 10 Reasons You Need Android’s Mobile Tech

4 Is Linux-Based Android 2.2 Ready for the Enterprise?

4 6
6 Android 2.2: A Developer Review

9 10 Android 2.2 Features We Can’t Wait to Use

9
Android in the Enterprise

10 Reasons You Need Android’s Mobile Tech


By Robert McGarvey

L
et’s face it; BlackBerry owns the enterprise BlackBerry in the enterprise. To wit, here are 10 reasons
mobile tech market. There’s no disputing Android deserves consideration for employees who have
that, but increasing numbers of analysts outgrown BlackBerry and want a genuine mobile Internet
are raising the cry that RIM’s stranglehold experience
is giving way to Google’s relentless Android charge. The
headline news is that, by some counts, Android already 1. The new OS (Android 2.2) makes it easy for
outsells the iPhone in all markets — Motorola happily enterprises to use Android phones, said Kevin
reports it cannot keep up with Kitagwa, director of Strategic
demand for its Android phones. Marketing at MIPS, a developer
Android is also starting to branch of processor architectures. “With
beyond phones into netbooks, better support for Microsoft
notebooks, and other devices Exchange (mail, calendar, and
that will find adoption inside the global address books) and more
enterprise. enterprise security features
such as remote wipe and
“Android is the platform to password policies, Android 2.2
watch,” said Vinayak Naik, will make it easier for corporate
Vice President, Content at IT departments to support it.”
AppDiscover, a mobile tech apps Older versions of Android were
development company. “While undeniably balky with enterprise
BlackBerry might have the upper e-mail but Android 2.2 changes
hand in enterprise markets and all that.
Apple might be showing great
strides in the consumer market, 2. Great availability across
we feel these two players will be ceding their pre-eminent networks, said enterprise mobility expert Azita
position to Android in the next 12 to 18 months.” Arvani of The Arvani Group. Of course, BlackBerry
can lay similar claims but iPhone cannot (it comes
Apps are in, BlackBerry doesn’t have enough, and iPhone with AT&T lock-in). You want Verizon? T-Mobile?
has the apps but it hasn’t persuaded big business it is a Sprint? Android delivers choice. It’s even on AT&T.
serious mobility device. CIOs need to brace themselves
for a stampede of employees seeking authorization to 3. Ditto for device choices, as Google enlists an
use app-loving Android devices on company business. army of manufacturers, from HTC to Motorola, to
create Android phones and companies like Intel and
What Should You Say? Toshia discuss netbooks and notebooks. This makes
it easier for a particular user to find the device that
You should say “Yes” according to the experts. There’s matches their needs. It’s also produced a range of
a mounting acceptance of the need to look beyond price points to suit most budgets.

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Android in the Enterprise

4. “Great integration with Google Maps and other


location-based services,” said Rushang Shah, 10. “Rapid OS update cycle leads to quicker fixes
director of marketing at CompanionLink Software, and resolution to issues,” said Shah. Fiddling with
can be a huge advantage in routing a mobile the OS can produce bad code but, in the Android
workforce to the right places at minimal cost. universe, fixes tend to come very fast.

5. Tight integration with Google Voice means the Does all this add up to a sweep for Android? Maybe,
mobile phone can easily be made a component but consider this final point from Mort Rosenthal, CEO
of a unified business communications unified of Enterprise Mobile, who pointed out that the very
business communications strategy. It also means the openness of Android has bred fragmentation and
enterprise can make easy use of lower-cost calling increased incompatibility issues causing “headaches for
options. IT,” he said.

6. A blizzard of apps: More than 50,000 in the Apps that run on Android 2.1 don’t necessarily run on 1.6
official Android apps store alone and independent and, even more problematic, every device manufacturer
apps stores now are sprouting up. Many apps are is free to add some of their own code on top of the
enterprise/productivity oriented. Yes, there are OS. This means a Motorola Android may behave very
more apps for the iPhone, but there are more apps differently from an HTC or a Samsung.
than anybody could possibly need available on
Android. “This is the one disadvantage I see with switching to
Android,” said Rosenthal who otherwise said he hears
7. Some Android devices — for instance, Sprint’s from ever mounting numbers of enterprise customers that
EVO — can double as Wi-Fi hotspots and, says they want more information on doing just that.
analyst Mike Demler, an independent industry
analyst based in San Jose, Calif., that can help cut There is no counting BlackBerry out in enterprise, but
travel expenses (no need to pay exorbitant in-room there is definitely a new kid on the block that is fast
Wi-Fi access fees). winning credibility. It’s too early to predict Android will
topple BlackBerry, but it isn’t too early to pull up a seat
8. The open Android platform is a key advantage to get a close-up view of what is shaping up as a brutal
because it means that development of the OS will brawl for enterprise dollars.
continue at a fast pace.

9. That same open platform also means enterprises


can introduce their own custom changes, to better
suit the particular business, said Eugene Goland,
president of DataArt, an application development
company.

3 Back to Contents Android in the Enterprise an Internet.com IT Management eBook. © 2010, Internet.com, a division of QuinStreet, Inc.
Android in the Enterprise

Is Linux-Based Android 2.2 Ready for the Enterprise?


By Keith Vance

G
oogle and Apple continue to slug it out in a come from the IT department, but rather corporate users.
death match to see who will dominate the
mobile device market, with Apple debuting You know the situation, the CEO comes into work with
its iPhone 4 and Google in May rolling out this cool new device and now wants to hook up to the
Android 2.2. network, check e-mail, work on documents and impress
her friends with all the neat things she can now do —
While much of the discussion is on the enormous including making it a Wi-Fi hotspot, which is a new
consumer market, what’s Android 2.2 feature.
arguably more interesting, or
at least lucrative, is who will win To help with her e-mail, Microsoft
the hearts and minds of mobile Exchange support in Android
enterprise users. 2.2 is a lot better. The calendar
now works and Android can take
What’s unique about corporate advantage of Exchange’s auto-
users is that there are two groups discovery to make logging in
that demand satisfaction: the much easier.
enterprise users and the mobile
IT departments who care about Google’s Linux Open
security and manageability of
mobile devices.
Source Strategy for
Smartphone Success
Fortunately for those charged
with overseeing smartphones in But the key to Android’s
the workplace, the latest version success isn’t going to be mobile
of the Linux-based Android OS applications Google developers
adds some features to help make system administrators build but rather those built by third-party developers.
a bit more comfortable with having an Android device on
their network. This is where Apple and Google differ. Google’s
approach to Android is that they’re not going to build
With Android 2.2, an administrator can remote wipe the many devices or applications. What Google will build are
mobile device if it’s lost or stolen. And when someone’s platforms, and the open source Android is their mobile
device does go missing, Android now supports backup platform. If you think about it, it’s very similar to what
and restore of data and user settings. (That should cut Microsoft did to compete against Apple back in the day
down on the whimpering from users who need to switch when desktop computing dominated the industry. Rather
to another phone because they left it at a beer garden.) than building the hardware and the software, Microsoft
built an operating system that could run on just about any
While these new features are nice to have, the demand hardware and they left the bulk of the work to third-party
for Android devices at most corporations is not going to software and hardware vendors.

4 Back to Contents Android in the Enterprise an Internet.com IT Management eBook. © 2010, Internet.com, a division of QuinStreet, Inc.
Android in the Enterprise

That’s essentially what Google’s doing with Android. And the browser got a speed burst too. Google claims
that the new V8 JavaScript engine is two to three times
In April, Google CEO Eric Schmidt sat down with the quicker than previous versions of Android.
National Editor of Forbes Media Quentin Hardy. Schmidt
told Hardy that mobility is the future of computing, But in terms of actually being able to build better
and that Google is planning to position itself to take applications, Android 2.2 takes a couple of steps forward.
advantage of the exploding mobile device marketplace.
Developers don’t have to rely on the limited internal
In one year, the percentage of mobile phone subscribers memory of the mobile device because the user can
who own a smartphone jumped from 16 percent to 23 choose to install applications on the device’s SD card.
percent, according to Nielsen’s smartphone data. Also, application developers can take advantage of new
backup and restore APIs that allow application data and
“What’s really important right now is to get the mobile settings to be saved remotely — making it easier for users
architecture right because mobility will ultimately be the to move to another mobile device.
way you provision most of your services,” Schmidt told
Hardy and the crowd of CIOs at Atmosphere. “Now today Keeping applications up to date got a lot easier in
that seems crazy, because mobile devices are largely a Android 2.2 too. Now there are “auto-update” and
problem in a corporation because they don’t support all “update all” options. With just the check of a box or the
of the existing enterprise apps.” press of a button, the device’s applications are brought
up to date.
However, Schmidt said that if you fast-forward five or
10 years with the investment and growth in mobile Another cool feature for developers is crash reporting.
computing, “the answer should always be ‘mobile first.’” If an application gets glitchy and crashes, the user can
submit a report that developers can read via the Android
“Our best strategy,” Schmidt said, “is to provide the Market Web site.
interoperability platform, the sharing platform, the
authentication platform, and have these more vertical So who’s winning in the mobile enterprise market? For
apps built by third parties, so they can sort of figure out now, it’s still Research In Motion’s BlackBerry devices.
what’s really needed.”
Even so, in just 18 months, Android is a real competitor to
That does sound familiar doesn’t it? both the iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry, so the race is far
from over.
Speedy Android 2.2 Entices Mobile App
Currently, Android-powered handsets have about 9
Devs percent of the smartphone market according to Nielsen’s
Q2 quarter 2010 data. BlackBerrys lead the pack with
To entice developers to build applications for the Android
about 35 percent, and Apple’s iPhone is second with 28
platform, version 2.2 makes a couple of significant
percent.
improvements.

For starters, the latest version of Android is a lot faster.


According to the Google Android 2.2 demo video, the
Dalvik VM just-in-time compiler is two to five times faster
than Android 2.1.

5 Back to Contents Android in the Enterprise an Internet.com IT Management eBook. © 2010, Internet.com, a division of QuinStreet, Inc.
Android in the Enterprise

Android 2.2: A Developer Review


By Shane Conder and Lauren Darcey

T
he Android platform has really matured in most Android 2.1 devices will receive an over-the-air
the past year or so. With the latest Android firmware upgrade to 2.2 in the coming months.
2.2 SDK released at Google I/O 2010, we
thought it would be fitting to do a little Now let’s look at some of the areas in which the Android
review of how far the platform has come. platform has grown the most.

In typical tech-sector lingo, the Android development Explosion of Android Devices


team has used a naming theme for all the Android
SDK versions, naming each It’s hard to believe, but just a
(alphabetically) after sweets: little more than a year ago the
Cupcake (Android 1.5), Donut only Android phone available
(1.6), Éclair (2.0), Flan (2.1), was the T-Mobile G1 (USA only).
FroYo (2.2), and the upcoming Now, more than 60 Android
Gingerbread (3.0). Despite being devices ship across 48 countries
referred to as “minor,” many on 59 carriers. And the devices
of these releases had major are as diverse as their user bases
implications for developers — the Android platform is now
and carrier/operators — not to running on everything from sleek
mention users. smartphones to monster tablets
to companion applications that
The Android development complement the anticipated/
team is adding features to the hyped electric car, the Chevy
platform at a fast and furious Volt. Soon, developers also will
pace —maybe too fast for some. be able to develop applications
In the past 18 months, they using Google TV (a marriage
have produced eight separate between Google Chrome and
Android releases, each of which was deemed important Android). With 100,000 devices activated daily and
enough to have its own API Level number. Statistically, a thriving app marketplace, the Android platform is
since Android 1.5, 19 new packages and 172 new classes growing very rapidly.
have been added to the Android SDK. Along the way,
even more changes (additions, removals, improvements,
bug fixes, etc.) have been made to existing classes.
A Thriving Market: If You Built It, They
Will Come
We’re now on API Level 8, which corresponds to the
Android 2.2 SDK. Aptly named FroYo, the Android 2.2 Not long ago, the Android user community was
SDK is leaner, faster and comes with a variety of new and considered mostly early adopters. The Android platform
interesting features (flavors?). Currently, though, there adoption rate (measured in device activations) recently
are really only three SDK versions running on devices: outpaced that of the Apple iPhone. There are now
Android 1.5, 1.6, and 2.1. It’s pretty safe to assume that millions of users running Android devices worldwide, with

6 Back to Contents Android in the Enterprise an Internet.com IT Management eBook. © 2010, Internet.com, a division of QuinStreet, Inc.
Android in the Enterprise

3 million new devices added monthly. Having aggressive the Web). Flash support is a compelling feature likely to
adoption rates is excellent news for Android developers tempt many users to consider an Android device if they
— after all, they need people to buy their apps. haven’t before. Even those who aren’t tech-savvy have
complained to us about the lack of Flash support on
Nowadays, we can’t leave our homes without mobile devices because they can’t access their favorite
encountering some random non-geeky layperson Web tools, whether they are the Nickelodeon website or
jamming away on his or her Android device (yes, we pay the WeightWatchers e-tools for lifestyle management.
attention to such things). Whether it’s a late-night hotel
manager, the international business exec sitting in first Adding Flash may also shake up the Android developer
class, the friendly chef at the local bakery, the Facebook- community a bit, as native apps will have to compete with
addicted babysitter or even one of our moms who lives in a huge contingent of Web apps. Still, the bottom line is, if
rural Vermont, Android users now come in all flavors. And it’s good for users, it will be good for platform adoption
developers can benefit from this because user diversity and therefore good for developers.
means a huge opportunity for niche applications.
The Personal Platform: Not Just
The Android Market now hosts a pretty impressive
catalog of Android applications. It wasn’t very long ago
Wallpapers and Ringtones
when the Android Market didn’t even support paid
A lot of users probably took a look at the first Android
applications. Today, 50,000 applications now co-exist and
gadget out there — the T-Mobile G1 — and judged the
thrive on there, which means:
Android platform as a whole based on that device. Sure,
it was cool, but it lacked polish and personalization.
1. Healthy competition
The people who compared the G1 to the Apple iPhone
2. Happy users
particularly found it lacking and not ready for prime time.
3. Assurance of a stable and thriving future for the
Android platform
Few can say the same about Android these days,
however. Devices running Android 2.0 and above
New applications are constantly rising to the top and
(especially FroYo) hold their own against all competitors
garnering tens of thousands of downloads and rave
and are even starting to steal some of the hype from
reviews. For a good case study, check out Chris Prett’s
specialty devices like the Apple iPad. The personalization
Replica Island, a free game recently featured on the
and user customization features available in FroYo make
Android Market. If the success of Replica Island is any
every other mobile platform out there look “vanilla.”
indication, it’s certainly not too late to write some cool
Android app and make a name for yourself.
From the developer’s point of view, personalization is an
application’s ability to make changes or provide services
The marketplace has also remained remarkably open and
to users that allow them to have personal experiences
accessible, despite the walled-garden problems of past
on their devices. That is, one that integrates application
mobile platforms.
content and personal choices in the user experience.
Here are some Android customization features:
Flash Will Make a Splash
• Traditional ringtone and wallpaper customization,
The addition of Flash 10.1 and AIR support in the Android including application integration
2.2 platform just caused the number of “applications” • “Live” and interactive wallpapers
available to Android users to go from tens of thousands • Themes and styles
(native apps) to millions (all the Flash-based apps on • Enhanced font support

7 Back to Contents Android in the Enterprise an Internet.com IT Management eBook. © 2010, Internet.com, a division of QuinStreet, Inc.
Android in the Enterprise

• App Widgets and other plug-in style application the camera and camcorder are better than ever.
customization support
• Voice command and text-to-speech support Developers can also take advantage of the many ways
• Support for a variety of screen sizes and users can interact with devices. It might seem strange
resolutions now, but the first couple of releases of Android didn’t
• Specialized device configurations like “night,” even have the notion of an on-screen keyboard (also
“car,” and “desk” modes called a software keyboard). Android’s input system has
changed dramatically to be one of the most dynamic
Users Talking Less, Browsing and Texting around, allowing a variety of input devices, custom input
methods like gestures, and even voice input. In fact, voice
More support barely existed in Android 2.1, but it was greatly
enhanced for the FroYo release.
Performance and responsiveness are key to the FroYo
release, which is the fastest version of Android to date.
You may have heard something about FroYo having the Development Tools Stay Current
“world’s fastest browser,” but the operating system as a
whole has received a major overhaul. Developers can also Having developed for all the major mobile platforms, we
take advantage of upgraded components, such as more think it’s safe to say that the Android development tools
efficient parsers. are the best we’ve seen in mobile.

Phones are, by definition, messaging devices. However, During the past year, developers have seen major
they haven’t always allowed applications to leverage upgrades and enhancements to the Android platform
various messaging technologies, from sending and tool chain as well as the Android SDK itself. Early Android
receiving text messages internally within an application to tools were tied to a specific SDK. They have since been
a fully automated, push experience. Messaging, though, broken out and componentized, allowing developers to
has been a core feature set of Android since long before target all shipping Android SDK versions with a single
the original 1.0 deployment. Unfortunately, when 1.0 installation. Recently, much of the focus on tool features
came out, many of the hyped messaging features were has been in these areas:
missing or hidden. However, they’ve been creeping back
into the platform with the past few Android releases. For • Testing and instrumentation
example, the SmsManager was reintroduced in Android • Performance and benchmarking
1.6 and Cloud-to-Device Messaging (C2DM), which can • User interface streamlining
be used for push applications, is being phased in as part
of the Android 2.2 release. Conclusion

Enhanced User Experience The Android platform’s growth has been fast and furious
— in terms of device availability, platform adoption by
The user interface components of Android have been users, and SDK features. This growth means bugs are
improved and polished over time. FroYo is the most fixed relatively quickly, missing features are addressed,
polished version of Android yet — and it’s pretty sweet. and other improvements, such as performance
enhancements, are implemented and delivered. continued
However,
By streamlining the platform, Android has been able this also means that we developers have to keep up with
to pack in more power. For example, FroYo supports a rapidly changing and expanding platform, which can be
OpenGL ES 2.0 for the first time. Audio and video hard considering the Android platform’s pace!
support was greatly enhanced for the FroYo release, and Here’s to hoping Gingerbread (Android’s next release)
will be the sweetest yet.

8 Back to Contents Android in the Enterprise an Internet.com IT Management eBook. © 2010, Internet.com, a division of QuinStreet, Inc.
Android in the Enterprise

10 Android 2.2 Features We Can’t Wait to Use


By Shane Conder and Lauren Darcey

A
ndroid 2.2 (codename: FroYo) is a minor reasons, but we think a lot of companies would need to
SDK release, but it still packs some punch, be convinced when native apps require them to target
providing both developers and users with multiple platforms to reach their customers. Maybe Flash
some much-anticipated features. After apps will help weed out the weak and badly written
attending the Google I/O conference and witnessing the native Android app competition, but will it strengthen the
FroYo announcement, here are the top 10 features (in no Android development community as a whole? We’ll have
particular order) that we think developers cannot wait to to wait and see.
get their hands on.
2. Push Messaging
1. Flash 10.1 and AIR
Support Developers can now leverage
another of Google’s services,
There may be some the Android Cloud to Device
disagreement about the viability Messaging (C2DM) framework.
of Flash on mobile, but it’s This framework provides a
coming to Android phones. service for enabling limited push
Whether or not Flash is the functionality to Android devices
future is really not the question; through Google services, which
for now, Flash is pretty pervasive handle the queuing and secure
on the Web, so cutting it out is delivery of lightweight messages
in effect cutting out many of the to the device. While the
dynamic Web apps users already framework is getting ironed out,
enjoy. developers can sign up at the
Google Labs website. Google
Beginning with the FroYo release, apps, such as the Android
Android users will be able to download the open beta Market for the Web, will soon be using this feature to
version of Flash 10.1 as well as AIR support (in the form push Android applications purchased via the Web to the
of an Android application) from the Android Market. phone over the air. This technology should help resolve
This decision substantially expands the number of some of the crazy polling traffic caused by Android
Web applications and sites accessible to Android users applications at the moment (resulting in reduced battery
and widens the development community for Android life, performance reductions, etc.).
substantially.
3. New Enterprise Features
This may become a double-edged sword for Android
developers, however. How will this change the content Android is finally positioning itself for some serious
of the Android Market? With boatloads of Flash apps enterprise use. The Android 2.2 SDK includes new Device
out there, why would anyone want to bother creating a Administration APIs (android.app.admin) for remote
native Android app version? Well, there certainly are valid

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Android in the Enterprise

and secure device management. Here you’ll find APIs item has completed loading, as well as the ability to
for managing device security, including password policy pause and resume all streams so an application no
enforcement and the ability to remotely lock and wipe the longer needs to keep track of each nor do these actions
device. For example, if an employee lost his or her device on each individual stream. These improvements ease
with its sensitive data and credentials, it could quickly be implementation and enhance efficiency.
locked and wiped of that data.
6. Across-the-Board SDK Enhancements
FroYo also introduces more robust Microsoft Exchange
support (see No. 9). We also heard some murmurs Numerous Android APIs were added as part of the 2.2
about Android Market-like deployment solutions for the release. Graphics and game developers will welcome
enterprise, but these will likely come later (but not in the support for OpenGL ES 2.0 and ETC1 texture-
FroYo). compression support. Services like speech recognition
(android.speech) received substantial upgrades and
4. Performance Improvements peripheral APIs such as those that support the Camera
and Camcorder have been greatly improved. A new UI
Developers and users benefit from FroYo’s vast and Mode Manager (android.app.UIModeManager) service
deep performance improvements. It seems some of adjusts the device configuration for night mode, car
Google’s most bloodthirsty quality and performance mode, and desk mode (docking state).
geeks combed the platform for “jankiness” (a term heard
often from Googlers that means uneven performance and As of Android 2.2, applications are not limited to
responsiveness) and built in a lot more instrumentation installation paths on the main device, but can also be
and benchmarking behind the scenes. This much-needed installed on external storage such as an SD card. There
performance overhaul resulted in a smoother, leaner is also a new generic data backup service Android
platform that hums — and a plan to keep it lean and applications can use to allow users to transition
speedy in the future. seamlessly between Android devices.

This is partly due to the inclusion of a just-in-time (JIT) In terms of sensible but frustrating API changes,
compiler for the Dalvik VM. According to the Google the layout attribute fill_parent has been renamed to
Android team, FroYo runtime performance is 2 to 5x match_parent (no, it won’t break your old apps — yet).
faster than previous versions of the Android platform. Even debugging got an enhancement with a blob-
You can disable JIT optimization within the application’s based “logcat” style queue of data in the form of
Android Manifest file. The Android browser is also DropBoxManager. The list goes on.
noticeably faster due to its V8 JavaScript engine, resulting
in a 2 to 3x boost in performance compared to Android 7. Android Market Updates
2.1’s browser (also see No. 10).
There are quite a few updates to the Android Market
5. Audio and Media API Improvements coming with the FroYo release. One of the most useful
new features for publishers is built-in error reporting.
A number of problems and logistical issues with the If your application crashes on a user’s phone, the user
Android media APIs have been addressed with the will have the option to send the error report back to
FroYo release. For example, an Audio Focus API has the specific publisher through the Android Market. This
been added for managing audio playing etiquette enables a full-circle, user-developer feedback loop,
amongst competing applications. The SoundPool API allowing publishers to address problems (and receive
was also updated to include a callback for when an valuable crash diagnostic information, such as the device

10 Back to Contents Android in the Enterprise an Internet.com IT Management eBook. © 2010, Internet.com, a division of QuinStreet, Inc.
Android in the Enterprise

configuration and stack trace) and avoid ratings disasters. • Android e-mail support for auto-completion of
recipient names and addresses using Microsoft
And let’s not forget that Android developers are also Exchange Global Address Lists
Android users. In addition to the expected performance
improvements and “Chrome” added for the FroYo 10. “The World’s Fastest Mobile
platform release, there are a number of compelling
consumer features delivered in FroYo, such as:
Browser”

In the Google I/O keynote, Google VP of Engineering Vic


8. Tethering and the Portable Hotspot Gundotra made the claim that the Android 2.2 release
includes the world’s fastest mobile browser. He illustrated
FroYo delivers USB tethering and the ability to turn your this claim by basically “lapping” the iPad browser (even
Android device into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot. This is a an after giving it a head start) in a little race based upon
awesome feature, but we wonder how many operators/ SunSpider JavaScript benchmarks. Whether or not the
carriers are going to hide and/or disable it, as some demonstration was a fair apples-to-apples comparison,
have done with similar features on competing platforms. the point got across: the performance improvements
If we had to guess, we’d say that this is one of those made to the FroYo browser made it wicked fast. Android
compelling features that might improve Android adoption browser performance makes everyone happy (OK, maybe
(although at 100,000 device activations a day, Android not competitors …) and will surely be appreciated as
isn’t doing too badly) but also is most likely to frustrate HTML5 grows up.
these same people when they cannot get that feature on
a shipping phone. We’ll see.

9. Microsoft Exchange Support

Nobody likes juggling devices based on whether they’re


using it for work or personal reasons, and there’s a pretty
substantial class of users out there who are greatly
limited in their choice of mobile devices based upon
their corporate IT requirements — notably, support for
Microsoft Exchange. (Frankly, it seems crazy to us to call
anything a “smartphone” if it doesn’t support Microsoft
Exchange, but that’s just us.)

Android 2.2 includes lots of new Microsoft Exchange


features, such as:

• Improved security features allowing


administrators to enforce password policies
• For Exchange administrators, remote wiping of a
device if it is lost or stolen
• Exchange calendar support now compatible with
the Android Calendar app
• Auto-discovery for easy account setup and
syncing

11 Back to Contents Android in the Enterprise an Internet.com IT Management eBook. © 2010, Internet.com, a division of QuinStreet, Inc.

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