Author Archives: Travis McCoy

5 ways to make the most of an Android tablet for the holidays

Anyone else been glued to their tablet lately? You’re not alone. People around the world are spending 70 percent more time on their Android tablets since the beginning of the year, and in the U.S., Samsung, Lenovo and Walmart (Onn) tablet purchases have been up 30 percent. If you’re looking to get into the tablet game (or if you’re already right here with us), here are five ways you can make the most of your Android tablet: 

1. Up your productivity game

Multitask on your Android tablet

Tablets can help boost your productivity in your work-from-home routine. Because Android supports multi-window and split-screen modes, you can use up to three apps at once on the large tablet screen on devices like the Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+.  

Say you’re planning a virtual holiday party—you can browse for party ideas on Chrome, watch baking videos on YouTube and set up a Calendar invite for party attendees all at the same time. If you’re feeling creative, use a stylus to plan out your holiday decorations in a popular drawing app like Tayasui Sketches, or check out Clip Studio Paint on Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+ (it’ll be available to all Android and Chrome OS users in mid-December).

2. Watch holiday classics, or find something new

Wrapped in a blanket with your favorite holiday beverage in hand, your Android tablet is the perfect screen for enjoying TV and movies. Your tablet’s Google TV app can help you easily find and watch classic holiday movies or catch up on your favorite shows from across your streaming apps. If you want to save it for later or watch with family and friends on the TV (via Chromecast with Google TV), add titles to your Watchlist. Your purchased shows and movies will always be available in your Library tab. 

3. Choose from one million tablet-ready apps on the Play Store

There are more than one million tablet-optimized apps on the Play Store.

Apps and games are what makes your tablet so useful and fun. Once you’ve unboxed your new Android tablet, you can browse the Play Store and choose from more than one million apps for tablets, with more coming every day. With higher resolution and larger screens, your favorite shows and games will look and play better on a tablet. Whether it's staying in touch with your friends on Facebook or trying to find the impostor in Among Us, your new Android tablet has what you need to stay connected, entertained and productive.

4. Browse enriching content for kids

To find the right apps for your kids, head to the Kids tab on Google Play, which features high-quality “Teacher approved” apps for kids, or Google Kids Space, which recommends quality content based on interests kids choose. Kids Space nurtures kids’ curiosity, with a library of teacher-approved apps and handpicked books from Google Play, and videos that spark creativity and offline play from YouTube Kids. Kids Space is available on select Android tablets including the new Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD Gen 2, and will be coming to more models soon. And with the Family Link app, you’ll always be able to manage your kid’s experiences, from setting screen time limits to content safety filters, privacy controls and more. 

5. Stay connected even while social distancing

Connect with up to 32 people using Google Duo.

When you’re social distancing, there are still great ways to keep in touch that go beyond the standard phone call. With features like Family mode, AR effects and screen sharing, Google Duo offers simple and reliable video calling. Since the beginning of March, call minutes on Duo almost doubled on tablet devices. That virtual holiday party you’re planning? It will be full of good cheer with Duo, which lets you video chat up to 32 friends at a time.  

Android enterprise security gets smarter and stronger with Google Play Protect and Android O

Enterprise customers need intelligent security tools to protect their data as part of a successful mobile deployment.

Android is built with enterprise security in mind, from the platform to the security services that now check 50 billion apps a day. Yesterday at I/O we took another step and introduced Google Play Protect, an always-on set of security services that are designed to provide more peace of mind to IT managers, employees and all users. We also previewed new security and management features in Android O that give enterprise customers additional app and data protections.

Play Protect Gif 1

Google Play Protect is built into every Android device with Google Play and uses the latest in advanced machine learning technology to identify threats and automatically keep them off your device. This intelligence, which gets smarter over time, bolsters the app review process in Google Play and extends to device scans of all apps, including apps from unknown sources.

For employees, Google Play Protect helps them take more control over their security and allows them to work confidently and productively without worrying about harmful apps. For IT managers, they can enjoy comprehensive, built-in antivirus protection from Google. And using our Android enterprise management features, IT managers can enforce this protection by policy.

In Android O, we’re also introducing a number of enterprise features designed to provide more enhanced security.

  • We’re enabling IT managers to enforce app scanning and blocking of potentially harmful apps device-wide by policy and making it backward compatible for earlier versions of Android.

  • We’re showcasing new protections for data at rest including more controls for strong authentication and encryption key eviction/password reset.

  • We’re enabling IT managers to utilize network logging to analyze emerging threats as well as exercising more control over file-based encryption.

If you’re at Google I/O, you can learn more by attending the “What’s new in Android security” session today at 2:30 p.m. Otherwise, check out the new Google Play Protect website.


Android enterprise security gets smarter and stronger with Google Play Protect and Android O

Enterprise customers need intelligent security tools to protect their data as part of a successful mobile deployment.

Android is built with enterprise security in mind, from the platform to the security services that now check 50 billion apps a day. Yesterday at I/O we took another step and introduced Google Play Protect, an always-on set of security services that are designed to provide more peace of mind to IT managers, employees and all users. We also previewed new security and management features in Android O that give enterprise customers additional app and data protections.

Play Protect Gif 1

Google Play Protect is built into every Android device with Google Play and uses the latest in advanced machine learning technology to identify threats and automatically keep them off your device. This intelligence, which gets smarter over time, bolsters the app review process in Google Play and extends to device scans of all apps, including apps from unknown sources.

For employees, Google Play Protect helps them take more control over their security and allows them to work confidently and productively without worrying about harmful apps. For IT managers, they can enjoy comprehensive, built-in antivirus protection from Google. And using our Android enterprise management features, IT managers can enforce this protection by policy.

In Android O, we’re also introducing a number of enterprise features designed to provide more enhanced security.

  • We’re enabling IT managers to enforce app scanning and blocking of potentially harmful apps device-wide by policy and making it backward compatible for earlier versions of Android.

  • We’re showcasing new protections for data at rest including more controls for strong authentication and encryption key eviction/password reset.

  • We’re enabling IT managers to utilize network logging to analyze emerging threats as well as exercising more control over file-based encryption.

If you’re at Google I/O, you can learn more by attending the “What’s new in Android security” session today at 2:30 p.m. Otherwise, check out the new Google Play Protect website.


How the World Bank is mobilizing their workforce with Android

Since formally launching enterprise support in Android two years ago, we’ve seen an explosion in the way companies are using mobile devices to evolve their businesses.

The World Bank Group, which provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries, was one of the first to mobilize their workforce with Android’s built-in enterprise features. With about 30% of their employees traveling at a given time, productivity on-the-go is critical for the Washington D.C.-based institution. After adopting the enterprise features, the World Bank has been able to provide a full set of internal and third-party mobile apps through the managed Google Play Store, allowing employees to work from anywhere. All applications are delivered and configured automatically through Google Play, so users don’t need to set up apps.

Employees have a choice between corporate-provisioned or personally-enabled Android phones that provide users with first-class mobile-enhanced capabilities. By using Android’s work profile and VPN support, employees can access sensitive data and keep it secure and separate from personal information. And with the availability of dual SIM devices, many users have been able to ditch a second device and work with one Android phone to communicate abroad and at home.

The native capabilities in Android allow the World Bank to manage its devices through our partner MobileIron in a consistent way, reducing complexity and the cost of support. As part of their migration to modern enterprise management APIs and the managed Google Play Store, they’re able to follow Android’s enterprise best practices for secure deployments, such as blocking installation of apps from unknown sources.

The World Bank is a leading example of how organizations can leverage the built-in enterprise features in Android to securely expand mobility and make employees more productive. 

To learn about the enterprise and security features in Android and how they can work for your organization, check out MobileIron Live this week in Santa Clara or MobileIron Live in Berlin June 1-2, where Android leaders will be presenting in various keynote and technical track discussions.


How the World Bank is mobilizing their workforce with Android

Since formally launching enterprise support in Android two years ago, we’ve seen an explosion in the way companies are using mobile devices to evolve their businesses.

The World Bank Group, which provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries, was one of the first to mobilize their workforce with Android’s built-in enterprise features. With about 30% of their employees traveling at a given time, productivity on-the-go is critical for the Washington D.C.-based institution. After adopting the enterprise features, the World Bank has been able to provide a full set of internal and third-party mobile apps through the managed Google Play Store, allowing employees to work from anywhere. All applications are delivered and configured automatically through Google Play, so users don’t need to set up apps.

Employees have a choice between corporate-provisioned or personally-enabled Android phones that provide users with first-class mobile-enhanced capabilities. By using Android’s work profile and VPN support, employees can access sensitive data and keep it secure and separate from personal information. And with the availability of dual SIM devices, many users have been able to ditch a second device and work with one Android phone to communicate abroad and at home.

The native capabilities in Android allow the World Bank to manage its devices through our partner MobileIron in a consistent way, reducing complexity and the cost of support. As part of their migration to modern enterprise management APIs and the managed Google Play Store, they’re able to follow Android’s enterprise best practices for secure deployments, such as blocking installation of apps from unknown sources.

The World Bank is a leading example of how organizations can leverage the built-in enterprise features in Android to securely expand mobility and make employees more productive. 

To learn about the enterprise and security features in Android and how they can work for your organization, check out MobileIron Live this week in Santa Clara or MobileIron Live in Berlin June 1-2, where Android leaders will be presenting in various keynote and technical track discussions.