Google's Android for Work Expands to 40 Partners Including Blackphone

Google on Thursday announced its Android for Work program has expanded to 40 partners, including device manufacturers, application makers, and management providers. Some of the popular new partners include Silent Circle, the makers of the privacy-oriented Blackphone, and all four major US mobile carriers - AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon - among others. Silent Circle also announced the Blackphone 2, the recently announced privacy-oriented smartphone, to be the company's maiden product in Google's Android for Work program.

Google's Android for Work initiative was announced earlier this year, with an aim to offer an integrated Android solution for management, productivity, and security to corporations. The platform lets users keep their personal data and apps separately from their work data and apps on a single Android device. The company in April made the Android for Work app available to download via Google Play. Google has been trying to push companies to adopt Android as the operating system of choice for work.

ZTE is another new handset OEMs that has partnered with Google for Android for Work in the latest addition of 40 partners, while HTC, BlackBerry, Sony, LG, Lenovo, Huawei, Dell, HP, Motorola, and Samsung were all part of the initiative since February tied up with Google in February for Android for Work. Other companies that have joined Android for Work initiative include carriers Rogers, Bell Canada, Telus Mobility, and KT.

According to Google, Android for Work received an impressive response from over 10,000 businesses including the World Bank, the US Army, and Guardian Life Insurance Company, all of which are currently testing, deploying, or using Android for Work. The company gives few more examples of Android for Work partners such as SAP, which makes use of the platform to streamline app distribution and expand support to more Android devices, and says Woolworths is planning to standardise on Android for corporate devices.

To recall, the Blackphone 2 was announced at MWC running an updated version of the PrivatOS Android-based OS. It was priced at $649 (approximately Rs. 41,500). Its addition to the Android for Work roster does lend some credence to the platform.

Announcing the partnership with Android for Work, Bill Conner, President and CEO of Silent Circle said, "Privacy is about being able to decide and control what information to share and how you share it. We're delighted to join the Android for Work program. It's a significant step forward in Silent Circle's development which enables us to deliver privacy and security to a broader enterprise customer base, while meeting their need for the wide-ranging apps and services provided by Google."