A second handset was running two versions of Android, one for consumer use and one for business. The consumer side is completely open and acts just like a conventional cell phone whereas the business side is more secure but restricted. Data is firewalled between the two sides so, for example, data from the business side cannot be accessed or copied over to the consumer side.
With the two systems, General Dynamics is offering a slightly different user experience. The first approach, installing new firmware, offers a slightly higher level of security but at the expense of user freedom. The second approach, with the dual instances of Android, comes with complete freedom on the consumer side of the phone.
The systems were being demonstrated in Barcelona as the U.S. Department of Defense published its plan to equipment up to 600,000 mobile device users in the organization with "secure classified and protected unclassified mobile solutions" that are based on commercial off-the-shelf products.
Martyn Williams covers mobile telecoms, Silicon Valley and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Martyn on Twitter at @martyn_williams. Martyn's e-mail address is martyn_williams@idg.com
