Daily Tech Briefing: April 4, 2014

Nokia recently introduced three new Lumia smartphones – the 635, the 630 and its flagship phone, the 930. Nokia introduced these models on the same day Microsoft previewed its Windows Phone 8.1 Update, which is the latest version of its phone operating system.

The timing was perfect, considering that the new Lumia phones will be the first to run the Windows Phone 8.1 Update out of the box. The 930 will feature a 5-inch 1080p ClearBlack display, metal trim and a bright polycarbonate back. It will feature Microsoft’s new voice assistant, Cortana, which, according to Microsoft Corporate Vice President Joe Belfiore, is the only digital assistant that “gets to know you, builds a relationship that you can trust, and gets better over time.”

The Windows 8.1 Update isn’t simply more user-friendly than its predecessor. It also has enhancements that allow organizations to embrace the mobility movement without having to worry about corporate data security. To achieve this, Microsoft will expand support for mobile device management suites that allow administrators to blacklist or whitelist apps, enable URL filtering and configure the new Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere recently announced that the company would end employer rate-plan discounts because they “use employees as bargaining chips.” However, it appears as though many employees are happy to be bargaining tools if it means paying less for phone service, and have expressed their displeasure regarding the change on Twitter. This prompted Legere to announce that “Everyone enrolled in the Advantage Program or who applied to enroll before April 1 will be able to keep a rate plan discount as long as they work at a participating employer and remain on a qualifying plan.”

Finally, Dell has released an updated Secure Mobile Access offering, the goal of which is to protect corporate networks from security threats while simultaneously providing mobile employees with per-app VPN access to enterprise data and resources. It’s designed to work with any mobile application and secure container, and requires no modification, application wrapping or SDK.

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