Android XML Configuration File? - android

I work for an enterprise service desk, and many of our users use Android phones. On the other hand, some of our users also use iPhones, and we were able to create a profile that a user can download to setup their exchange account. Is there any programs that allow this to be done for Android? We are looking to streamline our exchange account setup, and we would like a similar configuration file for the Android phones.
Or if there is no configuration utility, does anyone know of any enterprise solution for Android exchange setup?

As far as I know, there is no such feature in the Android Email App. You need to manually set up your phones to talk to any exchange servers.

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How do I transfer messages from iPhone to Android like Samsung Smart Switch and Google transfer?

I want to build an app to transfer message history between iOS and Android.
Apple does not allow third party apps to access messages, but Samsung Smart Switch circumvents this by using either phone-to-phone USB connection or by accessing iCloud. Google phone transfer seems to do a similar thing.
How do these apps make this possible and is this something third party developers can do?
I don't think you can transfer things over like that from Android to Apple iPhone unless they give you the option when you are first setting up the iPhone to transfer contents over from android and it also transfers the messages.
Another option though it's been a long time since I have used an Android device. You could use something like https://messages.google.com/web to load up your android messages from your phone and possibly just export them and save them to your computer.
As for developing such a tool, working within the messages API for apple. I think you can only develop extensions or addons but can't directly access the content for security reasons. Without further research, the companies might be only allowing the company to do this via a contract between them, but would not let a 3rd party vendor such as you or I access this data.
https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/
Nowhere in the guidelines does it specify that you can't access the SMSes. But you can only access it if you use private methods which are not allowed and will get your app rejected.
You can only access data for which Apple supplies a documented API. You can not access files outside of the Sandbox of your App unless Apple provides an API for it.

How to locally manage an android device?

I am creating a personal application that can locally manage/control an android device. In particular, I want to be able to do things such as lock down the device, enforce password policies, and wipe the device according to the local state of the device. I have reviewed a number of possible ways of doing this, but that is where I run into trouble.
According to this documentation, DeviceAdmin is essentially deprecated (i.e. the device must be Managed or have Managed Profile to access most of the DeviceAdmin API).
According to this documentation, creating a custom Device Policy Controller (DPC) is essentially deprecated. Side note: from context I am assuming a DPC is essentially a DeviceAdmin with a Managed device/profile but I can't find anywhere that explicitly states that (please correct me if I am wrong).
And finally I'm lead to the Android Management API, which at first seems to be what I want. Until I go through the quickstart and find out that I have to create a server and manage the device through a client-server relationship. As a reminder, I am looking for a way to locally manage the device. Now there are release notes indicating that local management may be coming in the future, but that is not now.
So here is my question: is there a currently supported way to locally manage a device?
I am aware of a developer hack that can set an application as a device owner. And while this may be able to work for my personal use, that seems like a pretty big hole in terms of enterprise management.
It is correct that, as of today, Android Enterprise has no way to manage a device locally. There is an open feature request to add support for the local execution of commands as part of our push for extensibility integration with the AMAPI SDK. But as mentioned, it is not currently supported.
Despite Android Enterprise no longer accepting new registrations/validations for custom device policy controllers (DPCs), developers can still build a device policy controller to lock down a device, enforce password policies, and wipe the device according to the local device state. You can still build one and deploy it to your device with a QR or NFC. That said, it's important to note that the DPC would NOT be able to use the Play EMM APIs (so, no app management via the Play Store). This limitation may disqualify the solution for you.

How can I deploy android apps using a manifest file, similar to iOS devices, without using an app store?

I want to deploy an Android app in a similar fashion as the Wireless, Over-The-Air method that exists for iOS devices. That is, setup a web page and the user clicks a link from his device that includes the manifest (xml) file, containing information on how to download the app. This works well on iOS devices, and I thought Android may have something similar.
How do I go about this?
Thank you for any help.
Please the comments above. Have the correct MIME settings, link to the apk, and make sure unknown sources is checked on the device to allow non-market apps.
Since you seem to imply an app market / store is not involved in the iOS case, it seems you might be talking about an offline-cacheable "web app" rather than a native iOS application.
The android equivalent is: on devices where the offline web app capability exists, just visit the same web page (referencing an html5 manifest with appropriate mime type, etc) you are using for iOS. Perhaps you will ultimately end up with platform-specific refinements, but the basic idea is portable.
Or perhaps you just mean that a desktop/laptop need not be used to open obtain the app. On Android, that has been the case since day 1 - the primary market client is on the device, with over-the-air install. You can send an android device to the market with a market:// url. The ability to trigger an install from a web browser running on something other than the device is a more recent and still secondary capability on android.
Finally, android does offer the ability to side load native applications, something that has no iOS equivalent outside of jailbreaking or having a developer account. Most of the responses seem to concentrate on this, but it's not clear if that is what you are actually asking for.

Deploying tool for our existing customers to iPhone and Android

We will be developing a free tool for our existing customers. I have no experience with iPhone and Android but as far as I'm aware you can't just put a file online and add a download link to it.
I'm wondering what are the best options to deliver this application to our customers? Should we just place it in App Store and Android Market (even though it might confuse the people who stumble upon the app and have no idea what or who it's for)?
I'm also aware of Apple's Enterprise Program. I'm not sure how it works technically but it sounds like it can be distributed from local network only, or am I wrong? The app should be obtainable online.
Is it possible to put app in App Store/Market without making it searchable & browseable in the app list of the Store/Market but accessible via direct link only?
Thank you for any suggestions.
For iPhone you need to use the iOS Enterprise Program to create your private market as long as the devices are not jailbreaked.
For Android you can distribute the installation file (.apk file) over your website. You have to tell the users to check the option "Install apps from unknown sources" (look here) in their preferences.
It really sounds like a "mobile web app" is what you're looking for.
There are several toolkits for styling web pages to look and act like an iPhone/Android app.
The user simply navigates to your site, and you can detect if they're browsing from a mobile device and render the page(s) based on that or redirect them to device specific sites.
Users can bookmark your site to create an icon on their home screen.
If your app doesn't depend on a remote connection, you can also just do everything in Javascript and the user can use your app offline.

Device Management application in Android 2.2

This is regarding google apps Device Management policy third party application which I got from android market in 2.2 .
I registered an account in Google Apps domain in order to use this account for enabling device management policies. I need to know the process in which remote wipe out feature can be achieved using this application in an enterprise manner. I need to login as an administrator in this application and need to wipe out the user secured data in his device on his request.
Is there a way in which I can achieve this using this 3rd party application?
I will be waiting for reply with the process in which this application can be used in Enterprise scenario.
Thanks in Advance.
If you are looking for device management in an enterprise scenario, you might want to take a look at Oracle Database Lite Mobile Server.
It provides enterprise device management features, including the ability to remotely wipe data on the client. However it does much more than that. It also includes a configurable two-way data sync engine and a management console for provisioning and monitoring devices. You can read more about it, and even try it out here:
http://bit.ly/eJOzhN
Maybe overkill for what you’re trying to do, but if you also need to provision applications and sync data between your devices and a backend database, this could be an ideal solution for you.
Good luck, hope you find a solution that meets your needs.
-- Eric
Your question is not programming related.
Please use:
https://android.stackexchange.com/
for Android superuser type questions.

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