Google is set to announce new tools designed for businesses and employees who want to get work done on Android-powered smartphones.
[WORLD] The technology unveiled Wednesday launches Google’s attempt to turn Android phones into the digital hub of people’s personal and professional lives. The expansion will pit Google Inc. against Microsoft Corp. and BlackBerry Inc., which have been focusing on the corporate market for years.
Google will also be dueling its biggest rival in mobile computing, Apple Inc., which forged a partnership with IBM Corp. last year to build more iPhone and iPad applications tailored for businesses and government agencies.
Google and Apple have become so dominant that 96 percent of the smartphones sold last year run on the companies’ software, according to the research firm IDC. But most people use those phones to take pictures, message their friends, check Facebook and Twitter and engage in other personal endeavors.
In many cases, people also may check their work email on their phones.
