Special Galaxy S III offers enterprises SAFE Android

Samsung has unveiled an enterprise-friendly version of its flagship Galaxy S III Android smartphone, but there is no word yet as to its potential availability in the UK.

The manufacturer said on Monday that it was introducing a new 'Samsung Approved for Enterprise' (SAFE) quality assurance programme, with the first SAFE-branded model being a US iteration of the Galaxy S III. Features include on-device AES-256-bit encryption — as used by the US government — as well as VPN and mobile device management (MDM) support and 'enhanced' ActiveSync support.

In a statement, the company said SAFE would "defragment" the various versions of the Android mobile OS, from the legacy 'Gingerbread' version 2.x to the current version, 'Ice Cream Sandwich' 4.0. It added that this would help companies deal with the 'bring your own device' (BYOD) trend.

"The… SAFE-branded and QA-tested Galaxy S III smartphone systematically defragments Android to provide a consistent level of IT compliance for individuals who demand the very best in both their personal and professional lives," Samsung US enterprise sales chief Tim Wagner said in the statement.

All in all, the SAFE-branded Galaxy S III will support 338 IT policies, Samsung noted, adding that the assurance programme is intended to encourage adoption within "regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services and government".

Assurance scheme

"This programme begins with MDM and VPN solutions providers using Samsung's software development kit to deeply integrate their solution on the SAFE device," the company said. "Once the development effort is completed, Samsung and the solution provider then thoroughly test and verify the device's support for the MDM and/or VPN software."

Apart from targeting regulated industries, the SAFE-branded Galaxy S III also offers the secure sharing of presentations, PDFs, photos and documents.

Samsung is also running a trade-in programme in the US to encourage adoption of SAFE-branded devices, with prospective customers able to trade in a variety of devices — iPhones included. Both 'prosumers' and corporate customers can take part, the company said.

However, Samsung has not given any suggestion that the SAFE-branded Galaxy S III, or indeed the quality assurance programme as a whole, will make its way to the UK.

ZDNet UK has asked the company whether it will target UK enterprises in the same way, but had not received a response at the time of writing.