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6 Android O changes you must know

At the moment, Google’s upcoming operating system, Android O, has been released as a beta test for developers and is still a work in progress. Many are debating whether the successor to Nougat will be named Oreo when released. What we do know for sure is that the latest OS features extended battery life and an enhanced notification system.

The post 6 Android O changes you must know appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

6 Android O changes you must know

At the moment, Google’s upcoming operating system, Android O, has been released as a beta test for developers and is still a work in progress. Many are debating whether the successor to Nougat will be named Oreo when released. What we do know for sure is that the latest OS features extended battery life and an enhanced notification system. But wait! There’s more.

Picture in picture
This is one of the so-called "fluid experiences" coming to O devices. You'll be able to watch a YouTube or Netflix video in a small window while using another app. The small window can even be used for a video call. Simply swipe it away when you're done.

Notification dots
If an app is trying to get your attention, a dot on the icon will appear. You can pull them down from the top of the screen to view the notification or press down on the app icon to view the notification in place.

Autofill
Reminiscent of autofill on computers, this feature will be available for apps on O devices. This makes it easier to log in and set up phones and applications since personal information like your name, address, and credit card details will be automatically filled in.

Better copying and pasting
Another component of O device's fluid experience is the enhanced copy-and-paste feature, which will be based on machine learning. You won't have to drag handles to highlight everything you want to copy -- just tap once on names, phone numbers, or addresses and Google will automatically highlight the rest.

Vitals
This is the group of optimizations that will improve your device's battery life, startup time and performance, stability and security.

Android for the entry level
Normally, the latest operating systems are exclusive to the most powerful phones. However, Google doesn't want to reserve O to state-of-the-art devices. That's why Google developed a variant called Android Go, which aims to provide a seamless Android experience for affordable O phones, including those with fewer components and/or less storage.

Android Go includes a customized set of Google apps that require less memory, storage, and mobile data. Google Play Store will also highlight the apps that will work better on such entry-level phones (regular apps will still be available). The operating system is being designed for O phones with limited memory: anywhere between 512 megabytes and one gigabyte.

The OS will be available this summer. In the meantime, if you want to know more or have any questions about Android O, feel free to contact us today!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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NSA to secure phones with virtualization

Corporate smartphones and tablets store a significant amount of valuable data. Combine that with their mobile nature and they’re particularly vulnerable to being compromised or stolen. Everyone, including the National Security Agency (NSA), is looking for the next big thing in mobile security, and it might just be virtualization.

The post NSA to secure phones with virtualization appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

NSA to secure phones with virtualization

Corporate smartphones and tablets store a significant amount of valuable data. Combine that with their mobile nature and they’re particularly vulnerable to being compromised or stolen. Everyone, including the National Security Agency (NSA), is looking for the next big thing in mobile security, and it might just be virtualization.

US government approved

The NSA maintains a program named Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSFC) that tests and approves hardware to assist government entities that are optimizing security. For example, if a public sector network administrator is deciding which mobile devices to purchase for office staff, CSFC has information about which devices are approved for various government roles.

Offices in the intelligence community usually require virtualization hardware and software as a minimum for laptops and tablets. But until now, no smartphones that included the technology have passed the tests. However, a recently released model of the HTC A9 phone includes mobile virtualization functionality that got the green light.

What is mobile virtualization?

Virtualization is an immensely complicated field of technology, but when it comes to mobile devices the process is a little simpler. Like any mobile device management plan, the goal of mobile virtualization is to separate personal data from business data entirely. Current solutions are forced to organize and secure data that is stored in a single drive.

Essentially, current phones have one operating system, which contains a number of folders that can be locked down for business and personal access. But the underlying software running the whole phone still connects everything. So if an employee downloaded malware hidden in a mobile game, it would be possible to spread through the entire system, regardless of how secure individual folders are.

With mobile virtualization however, administrators can separate the operating system from the hardware. This would allow you to partition a phone’s storage into two drives for two operating system installations. Within the business partition, you could forbid users from downloading any apps other than those approved by your business. If employees install something malicious on their personal partition, it has no way of affecting your business data because the two virtualized operating systems have no way of interacting with each other.

Although it’s still in its infancy, the prospect of technology that can essentially combine the software from two devices onto a single smartphone’s hardware is very exciting for the security community. To start preparing your organization for the switch to mobile virtualization, call us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Alexa devices to become extension phones

Alexa, Amazon’s counterpart to Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri, is an intelligent personal assistant that can perform various tasks for its ‘master.’ Based on a recently released patent, the eCommerce company is set to reveal a wireless phone system powered by this artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

The post Alexa devices to become extension phones appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

Alexa devices to become extension phones

Alexa, Amazon’s counterpart to Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri, is an intelligent personal assistant that can perform various tasks for its ‘master.’ Based on a recently released patent, the eCommerce company is set to reveal a wireless phone system powered by this artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Here’s what you need to know.

How it works

Amazon’s 3D-enabled Fire Phone was its first attempt at launching a smartphone, but it failed to set the mobile phone market ablaze. Based on the company’s recent voice-controlled phone patent, they are developing a smarter and more practical wireless phone technology, which will be integrated into their successful smart speaker devices, Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show.

The system will work by linking a mobile number to the Alexa devices, which would have a mechanism for notifying the user of incoming calls, answering calls via the smart speaker itself, as well as placing calls by giving commands to Alexa. What makes the Alexa-powered devices a compelling phone system is its ability to identify users based on a voice recognition system already built into the devices.

Note, however, that the mobile carrier would still be providing the communication service, with the Alexa device serving only as a medium, which is how most VoIP communications works.

What it means for your business

Amazon’s Alexa-powered devices are attractive for their voice-control technology. Although they did not pioneer it, they integrated it with devices that allowed them to go beyond what other AI devices can do. The Echo Dot, for instance, is especially useful to those who use a variety of Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices, such as lights, switches, and TVs, to name just a few.

Its voice recognition capabilities are also a cut above the rest, being able to recognize voice and adopt your speech patterns the more you use it. It can also serve as an all-around assistant in a room or in any office setting, helping you check the weather, send a message, or provide calendar event updates.

As Amazon develops its voice recognition technology for its Alexa-powered phones, it can be expected that this same technology would make it a formidable home or office phone system that can easily find contacts, screen callers, or conveniently set up conference calls -- all by voice command. But as of now, Amazon’s patent is in the early stages of development.

There are plenty of communication options for your business, and although there’s nothing quite like the Alexa phones yet, there are plenty of viable substitutes that can suit your business’s communication needs. Call us today for VoIP option recommendations.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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