mobileenterprise.edgl.com - Total global smartwatch shipments are expected to grow 511% this year, from 4.6 million units in 2014 to 28.1 million units in 2015, with most of the smartwatch growth expected to come from the new Apple Watch, according to Strategy Analytics (wwwstrategyanalytics.com). To support business users' reliance on the wearable, Good Technology (www.good.com) has created a secure email and collaboration application available as a native app for Apple Watch. Called Good Work for Apple Watch, the native app delivers the convenience and productivity enterprise users need right from their wrists while giving IT control to mange this new breed of wearable devices.
The new capabilities include glances for new and unread email count, and details on an upcoming meeting. Within the app, users can read emails on the watch and take actions, such as delete, flag or mark read/unread using the force press gesture. They can also scroll through their meetings for the day with a more detailed view that includes the organizer's picture and any meeting notes.
"Enabling enterprise mobility means securing data accessed and used on all devices, whether smartphones, tablets or wearables," said Christy Wyatt, chairman and CEO of Good Technology. "The Good Work app for Apple Watch extends our leadership in wearables, allowing greater productivity for employees while also providing complete policy controls for IT."
The app is available in the iTunes app store.

tradearabia.com - Increased mobile technology usage at work across the Middle East is creating a generation of more efficient 'desk-independent' employees.
The number of workers using mobile technologies workers across Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) will reach 244.6 million this year creating a generation of more efficient 'desk-independent' employees, according to industry experts.
Smart connected devices will reach 513 million in the same region, and that the global mobile worker population will reach over 37 per cent of the total workforce, representing a 30 per cent increase from 2010, figures from the latest International Data Corporation (IDC) study on the growing mobile workforce across EMEA.
"Today's workforce is increasingly on the move, and mobile technology has become a necessity for both employees, and employers, with smartphones in prominent demand," said Nitin Sood, managing director, Fly MEA, a leading manufacturer of mobile phones.
"More corporations, across a growing number of industries, in the Middle East are recognizing the benefits of the BYOD model, allowing for mobile working, and continuous accessibility, and as a result, are encouraging employees to utilize their chosen mobile device. This trend is accelerated by the constant developments in mobile technology, such as 4G and LTE data networks, which are allowing professionals access to information quickly, and on-the-move."
Fly has also observed a recent growth towards the phablet as a device of choice among workers in the Middle East, as they provide a sufficient balance between the performance of tablets, and the convenience of smartphones.
With mobile technology, employees and employers are now able to access emails and important working documents while commuting, at remote work destinations, and even at home. The introduction of high-speed 4G LTE devices will further increase productivity levels across industries by allowing workers to manage their time more efficiently, and will improve the quality of life for workers in the region, as they are able to reduce the time spent at work.
A recent study by Google's Our Mobile Planet Survey revealed that the Middle East has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world. The survey further revealed that the smartphone penetration rates in the region were highest in the UAE at 73.8 per cent, and Saudi Arabia at 72.8 per cent. With an ever-expanding portfolio of mobile devices, Fly constantly strives to meet the diverse demands of the market with high-end technology at affordable prices.
Aruba Networks have reported that the increase in mobile working demand has resulted in a new generation, dubbed #GenMobile, whose lives now revolve around mobile devices, especially in work settings. This new generation, identified in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as in Europe, the US and South Africa, are strong believers in the notion of mobile working, in any location, at any time.
The 2014 report revealed that 86 per cent of survey respondents owned at least two mobile devices that are able to connect to the internet, and that 45 per cent work most efficiently outside of typical working hours. The report further suggested that almost 50 per cent of the respondents would opt for more flexible working hours over a 10 per cent increase in salary.
"While security is a top priority for many workers in the region, the ability to switch seamlessly between devices, and access important documents is equally important," said Sood.
"There are countless apps emerging on the market to ensure both demands are met. In addition to the Google Drive app that securely backs up user documents, the 1U security app, for example, allows users to access private information and websites by simply requesting authorized users to glance at their device, while Evernote synchronizes data across various devices allowing users to work effortlessly anywhere at any time."
The utility of mobile devices at work has been proven to benefit workers across all industries in many ways.
Engineers can access important technical information when involved in fieldwork, salespeople can incorporate innovated and interactive sales material when pitching to potential clients, teachers can increase student engagement and retention level with the use of dedicated apps, healthcare professionals can access records across hospital departments, and employees across industries will have constant access to their emails and important documents wherever they are.

datamation.com - A forecast from IT research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) suggests that enterprises with a solid mobile device management (MDM) strategy today will be well positioned to cater to tomorrow's workforces.
By 2020, the number of U.S. mobile workers will grow to 105.4 million, a jump from 96.2 million in 2015. Also by that year, mobile workers will make up 72.3 percent of the total U.S. workforce.
"Mobility has become synonymous with productivity both inside and outside the workplace, and the mass adoption of mobile technology in the United States has cultivated an environment where workers expect to leverage mobile technology at work," said IDC research analyst Bryan Bassett in a statement. "This expectation will be supplemented by new solutions specifically intended to manage the challenges associated with the growing needs of the mobile workforce."
There are several factors at play, according to IDC.
Smartphones and tablets are becoming increasingly affordable. Coupled with the growing popularity of bring your own device (BYOD) programs among businesses, mobile device use has skyrocketed in work environments.
Encouraging the use of mobile devices is also having a positive impact on the bottom line. Citing earlier research from the analyst group, IDC noted that 69.1 percent of enterprises reported experiencing a reduction in operating expenses or capital expenses after setting up their BYOD programs.
It also helps that mobile devices are becoming more capable, and some cases, more wearable. "In addition, innovations in mobile technology such as biometric readers, wearables, voice control, near-field communications (NFC), and augmented reality are enabling workers in completely new ways, increasing productivity by enhancing communications and business workflows," observed IDC.
In March, IDC predicted that the wearables market would more than double this year. In 2015, vendors are expected to ship 45.7 million wearable devices, compared to the 19.6 million wearables that made their way into the market last year. Strong demand for wearables during the first quarter indicate that the firm's rosy forecast is on track.
Employees in the fields of manufacturing, construction, retail and healthcare are expected to drive mobile device use for work purposes faster than other verticals. The latter is particularly welcoming of smartphones, tables and other mobile devices at work.
"Healthcare workers represent the largest segment of the mobile workforce, accounting for 18 percent of the total U.S. mobile worker population when office-based and non-office-based healthcare workers are combined," stated IDC.

it-online.co.za - According to a new forecast from International Data Corporation (IDC), the US mobile worker population will grow at a steady rate over the next five years, increasing from 96,2-million in 2015 to 105,4-million mobile workers in 2020.
By the end of the forecast period, IDC expects mobile workers will account for nearly three quarters (72,3%) of the total US workforce.
Key drivers behind the growth in the US mobile worker population include the increasing affordability of smartphones and tablets combined with the growing acceptance of corporate bring your own device (BYOD) programs. In addition, innovations in mobile technology such as biometric readers, wearables, voice control, near-field communications (NFC), and augmented reality are enabling workers in completely new ways, increasing productivity by enhancing communications and business workflows.
In a recent IDC survey, 69,1% of enterprise mobility stakeholders polled saw a reduction in opex or capex costs as a result of implementing BYOD programs.
"Mobility has become synonymous with productivity both inside and outside the workplace, and the mass adoption of mobile technology in the United States has cultivated an environment where workers expect to leverage mobile technology at work," says Bryan Basset, research analyst: mobile enterprise device solutions at IDC. "This expectation will be supplemented by new solutions specifically intended to manage the challenges associated with the growing needs of the mobile workforce."
Key findings from IDC's mobile worker forecast include:
*Office-based and non-office-based mobile worker populations will stay in relative balance to one another throughout the forecast, with non-office-based mobile workers representing more than two thirds of the total mobile worker population.
* Manufacturing, construction, retail and healthcare workers are inherently more mobile and these industries are expected to see faster growth in their mobile worker population than other vertical markets over the forecast period.
* Healthcare workers represent the largest segment of the mobile workforce, accounting for 18% of the total US mobile worker population when office-based and non-office-based healthcare workers are combined.
IDC defines office-based mobile workers as those whose primary workplace is an office environment, including both corporate and home locations. This category includes mobile professionals, occasionally mobile workers, mobile non-travellers, and telecommuters. Non-office-based mobile workers are those whose primary workplace is on location or in the field, not in an office environment. The two types of non-office-based mobile workers are mobile field workers and mobile on-location workers.

zdnet.com - If BlackBerry is looking to experiment and make an Android phone, it makes sense to try it out on the mass market.
Were BlackBerry to make the rumoured Android slider phone, and it was a total bomb in the marketplace, what would be the downside?
Following years of successive failure and disappointment from the former golden child of Ontario, what would be the impact of creating one more handset that never quite made it?
After years of consumers ignoring BlackBerry 10 (BB10) devices like the plague, why not shake things up a bit and see if there are any Android users out there who would like a return to a hardware keyboard?
Die-hard fans may see heresy in the above three questions, but after trying to take the world by storm with BB10, no matter how many times and different ways the company formerly known as Research In Motion asks the question, consumers are not listening.
Should an Android-based BlackBerry handset ever appear, it makes sense to go after the market segment where its footprint is lightest.
The fact that the BlackBerry 10 operating system arrived with an Android environment based on the freely available Android Open Source Project (AOSP), and even bundles in the Amazon App Store nowadays, shows that BlackBerry knows its main problem -- giving its users access to apps that are not available on its QNX-based BB10.
Therefore, it makes sense to remove the layer in the way, BB10, and go wholesale on Android for the mass market.
It wouldn't be the first time that a handset maker that appeared otherwise inseparable from its operating system of choice had diversified into Android, with Nokia taking the plunge early last year before it was subsumed into Microsoft.
Nokia showed it was possible to take AOSP, skin it, and fill in the gaps made by not being able to use Google's services and apps -- in Nokia's case, Google services were replaced with their Microsoft equivalents. For BlackBerry, its own services, interactions, and apps could easily drop in, especially when some are already available on Android.
There's no technical reason why BB10's gesture navigation and hub-based interactions could not work on Android.
In an interview with Bloomberg late last year, BlackBerry CEO John Chen said the company's strategy is to focus on end-to-computing for the enterprise.
The enterprise, and especially the government sector, is one area where BlackBerry continues to hold some ground. This is where the company's forte of device management and security really comes into play, and where BB10 and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server can exploit their niche.
Letting an Android slider phone loose on the world would not challenge BlackBerry's prized enterprise sanctum -- and, who knows, if a latent population of Android users are hankering for proper BlackBerry hardware keyboard, they could even ship a few million units. What a turn of events that would be.