Box for Android supports Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and features language support for French, German, Spanish and Italian. Users can get 50 free GBs of storage now.
Box has
upgraded its Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android software with collaboration features
and support for several European languages, and is offering 50GB of free file
sharing and storage for users.
Box provides
collaboration and storage services in the cloud, allowing users to share files
across multiple computers, tablets and smartphones.
The startup,
which has more than 8 million users, spanning over 100,000 businesses, competes
with Dropbox and increasingly with Google, which is reportedly launching a
Google Drive cloud storage service this year.
While those
cloud purveyors focus on consumers, Box targets enterprises. In fact, more than
80 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using Box software, which also
integrates with Google Apps, NetSuite and Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) through APIs.
Box has
offered applications for Apple's iPhone and iPads and Android phones and
tablets for a couple years, and while Apple's devices have performed well in
the enterprise, the company sees some green field ahead for Android devices.
"Android
matters to us because we bring Box to whatever devices are showing up in the
enterprise. We're not tied to any particular platform," Matt Self, vice
president of the platform development engineering group at Box, told
eWEEK.
Today's
Android upgrade, version 1.6, sports a new user interface based on the Android
4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) user interface, including a new Action Bar on phones
and tablets.
The new
Android app also boasts the ability to comment on files and invite
collaborators to folders, and allows users to upload multiple files in batches
from a Secure Digital (SD) card.
Box is also
looking to significantly boost international support, a weak area for the
company to date. The refreshed Box for Android app offers localized language
support for French, Italian, German and Spanish, with more languages coming.
Self said 40
percent of Boxs more than 8 million users are located outside the U.S., making
it crucial that Box accelerate its international growth.
Finally, all
users who grab the new Box for Android app by March 23 will receive 50GB of
free file sharing and storage for the lifetime of their Box account.
Current Box
users who want their 50 free GBs must update Box for Android 1.6 and log in
from their Android smartphone or tablet. New users will need to sign up for a
Box account from their Android device.
Box for
Android 1.6 is available in the Android Market, Amazon Appstore, LG World,
Verizon Store and Nook Store.
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