This week brings some very interesting enterprise mobility news. First, NetMotion Wireless has announced the delivery of its new NetMotion Mobility v10 platform. NetMotion Mobility is, at least in our opinion, the preeminent mobile VPN solution for enterprises that need to put secure mobile devices on the ground in support of numerous types of field service and public safety scenarios. NetMotion has been plying its mobile VPN craft for over a decade, and its new release adds significant user interface improvements to what is already a stellar product.
Long time enterprise virtualization player Citrix, which is now delivering serious enterprise mobility solutions that scale to all sizes of business as well as delivering mobile security capabilities that ensure mobile apps and mobile data are fully secure, has added a new mobile arrow to its quiver. This week the company announced the official launch its Citrix Worx Mobile Apps and Gallery. Utilizing its own secure XenMobile platform as a foundation, the company is working with third party developers to deliver its own enterprise mobile app store, which now has over 100 certified mobile apps that Citrix customers can purchase and quickly deploy. There are numerous benefits to the approach, but is it right for your business? The answer is very likely to be yes.
Motorola Solutions -- that other Motorola-named company that focuses on enterprise mobility -- also had news this week. The company has introduced a purpose-built smartphone meant for Public Safety LTE broadband, dubbed the LEX 700 Mission Critical Handheld. Running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, this device allows public safety professionals to meet mission-critical broadband communications needs for fighting fires, catching criminals and helping patients. Motorola Solutions first introduced the ability to access a Band Class 14 Public Safety LTE network back in 2011 with the VML700 LTE Vehicle Modem and the UM1000 LTE USB Modem. Now, the company is making this connectivity even more mobile.
Delta Airlines has announced its own interesting enterprise mobile news this week. Its flight attendants are going to begin using Nokia Lumia 810 Windows 8 smartphones while in the air. The attendants will use the 810s to do all the things they now do with more old fashioned and heftier devices -- take credit card orders for food, read coupons for discounts, handle in-flight seat upgrades, and other related tasks. The solution was developed by Microsoft, Avanade and AT&T with the help of feedback from flight attendants. The only question we have is whether or not they will need to turn the devices off when taking off and landing.
Some interesting things are also happening on the consumer side of mobility. For one thing Facebook announced this week that its mobile SDK for Android will finally allow Android developers to have the same rich features and capabilities that their iOS developers enjoy. And Barnes & Noble has dropped the price of its Nook eBook reader. We're entirely unsure what difference this will make to the floundering bookseller, but perhaps there are some bargains to be scored here if you've always wanted one.
HTC, which happens to make some really sweet smartphones, is also a company on the edge of financial viability. But if that weren't bad enough, now some vendors are perhaps adding a bit of insult to injury. What else is there to say about the fact that Beats Electronics -- the company that makes the popular Beats by Dr. Dre headphones -- wants to buy out HTC and look for a new investor -- which means HTC would likely lose Beats as its headphone supplier. Ouch!
Apparently that bastion of saving money - the federal government, is now finding ways to put mobility to work to save money. Now that is a very interesting thought. A new MeriTalk study, underwritten by Brocade and entitled “Feds on the Go: Network Needs for Maximum Mobility,” has revealed just how federal workers are putting mobile devices to work. Federal workers estimate that, thanks to mobile connectivity, an additional nine hours a week, on average, will be put into work beyond the normal schedule. Hmm…we'll see.
We'll sign off with the following. How often have you sent off some message you really wish you hadn't? Or that you wanted to take back? Or perhaps you've worried if the content in a message you sent will ever end up in the wrong hands? Well stop worrying! There is a new app in town called Invisible Text that will make these situations all go away. Invisible Text enables users to send text messages that will automatically be deleted once the intended recipient views them, ensuring that texts will be kept private between the sender and recipient. Additionally, users can delete messages that they either accidentally send or changed their mind about sending prior to the message being opened. What's not to like about this?
Have a great weekend!
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