Motorola Mobile Computers Expand Support For Android
Three Motorola Solutions’ enterprise mobile computers are now available with Android OS. Specifically, the ET1, MC40, and MC67 enterprise mobile computers can be configured with the Jelly Bean version of the Android OS. “Android has tremendous potential in our sector, and we understand the importance of providing customers with multiple Android Jelly Bean options to best fit their specialized requirements,” says Mike Petersen, director of enterprise mobile computing product marketing for Motorola Solutions.
The ET1 tablet is suited to retail, field service, field sales, DSD, and route accounting in manufacturing, metering in utilities, and citations and incident reports for government and public safety workers. The MC40 is primarily for retail although it has applicability in several other industries including hospitality, manufacturing, and the public sector. The MC67, which is expected to be available in early Q1 2014, is a lightweight, rugged, multi-mode wireless mobile enterprise computer for field mobility applications such as fixing equipment, making deliveries, taking orders, performing inspections, or issuing citations. It is one of the few products that run both Microsoft or Android operating systems.
The computers are supported by new Extensions (Mx) by Motorola Solutions. Mx, a suite of security, device management, and performance extensions, make Android OS ready for the enterprise. With Mx, IT administrators can strictly enforce which business applications run on a device, and mobile device management (MDM) vendors can provide real-time remote management control.
The computers also feature RhoMobile Suite 4.0 cross-platform development framework tools, which help businesses mobilize their workers, regardless of OS, device, or technology. Girish Rishi, senior VP of enterprise solutions for Motorola Solutions, says, “Now, businesses have more choices and can better manage rapid changes in the market by using Motorola’s tools that deliver complete solutions in less time while protecting their mobile investments.”
He adds, “Developers also can leverage and develop standard Android applications or HTML5 cross-platform applications using RhoMobile Suite 4.0.” Motorola provides a full software development kit (SDK) that allows developers to easily develop and integrate enterprise data capture features on Motorola’s Android-based mobile computers.