back to article Samsung-Microsoft deal will bundle Office 365 with Android Knox

The man behind Samsung Knox, Dr Injong Rhee, says a deal with Microsoft will see Office 365 bundled with the Knox secure enterprise workspace. Rhee was speaking at Samsung’s Enterprise Mobility Showcase, part of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Knox is a secure container built into Samsung’s Android devices. It includes …

  1. kororas

    Samsung loves its preloaded crapware. That is all.

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Other possibilities ...

      1) Look at all these patents. It would be a shame if one of your products faced an injunction. You need protection. Would you like to pre-install Office 365?

      2) All our distributors get a contribution towards marketing funds that are a big fraction of the cost of Windows licenses. It would be a shame if you received a much smaller contribution than your competitors. Would you like to pre-install Office 365?

      3) Some boiling frogs are so locked into MS Office that they actually like it pre-installed.

      1. MissingSecurity

        Re: Other possibilities ...

        My guess its the other way around, sort of like a, We're not gaining anything on our tablets, Apple doesn't give any fuck about us, and Android is the current wave, if we pay you money, can you force MS on people for us because everyone uses word still right?

        I don't know if this is in Sammys best interest but we'll see. As a Sysadmin, the idea of a container product for enterprise applications is smart. The idea that ONE companies software (with a track record of fucking things up) is going to be preinstalled in those containers, is another thing,

        I am still not enthused about 365 and in general its been nothing but problems for me, so I am back on Libre and Thunderbird and Google Apps.

    2. Avatar of They
      Happy

      The note 4 is king of bloatware.

      Depending on which review you read there is a Samsung version of every google app, and the google app itself installed on them. Mine has 2 separate app stores, 2 browsers, 3 office suites, 2 cloud options, 3 photo album things, 2 calendars, 2 music and 3 video (technically 4 of each) Just because S is in front of it doesn't mean it is any different from the other versions installed. Plus a ton of stuff I can't figure out that has Samsung Hub associated with it.

      And some you can't uninstall, as Samsung app store is very basic, you try telling Samsung you don't want whats app.

      None of that includes the ones bundled by the likes of 02 or AT&T. If you read the ars-technica review it came with 4 separate app stores including the AT&T.

      Samsung certainly likes to pre-install stuff. And now the creepware Google is joined by the NSA creepware MS?

      And will this need an office 365 licence? looking at the Play store offering for MS office they are basic read only versions unless you have the "Must be online to check" 365 licence. Which is just silly for battery and using it in the country, big building, server room etc.

      Hmmmm... I can see why they did it, but not sure I agree in why they did it.

      1. dogged
        Stop

        Re: The note 4 is king of bloatware.

        > And now the creepware Google is joined by the NSA creepware MS?

        I'm sorry, do you come from a reality where Microsoft aided and abetted the NSA for years and Google didn't?

        Because in this reality, Ed Snowden's documents show that Google certainly did. As did Apple and all the telcos.

        If you want to differentiate Google and MS, you could possibly go for the fact that MS only spied on you for the NSA but didn't also sell you to advertisers.

        1. Gis Bun

          Re: The note 4 is king of bloatware.

          Meanwhile, Google invades your privacy, Microsoft [so far] hasn't. Remember when Google admitted [or maybe not in those words] that they were electronically reading your email to send keywords to their ad/spam services so they can show you on the same page as the Email about drug dealing an ad from a local drug dealer?

          Or remember when you created a Gmail/Google account, it automatically created a Google+ account without telling you?

    3. Bob Vistakin
      Facepalm

      Crap no-one wants HAS to be forced down their throats this way - Android has 85% market share, ios 11% and the dregs have to scrabble about for the rest. Without this "deal", microsofts mobile software is as relevant to users as their handsets.

  2. MrT

    Pre-announcement announcement...

    "We have a deal with Microsoft which will be announced in a week or so, we’ll have a big announcement, so you have a sneak preview."

    an·nounce

    \ə-ˈnau̇n(t)s\ verb

    1: to make (something) known in a public way

    This message is the announcement. What follows is the detail, more words, flash graphics and maybe a bit of a bunfight to the sound of cheers, back slapping, etc.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Dead horse

    Wow, even Microsoft have given up on their mobile OS... even though they've fucked up their Desktop OS to suit it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Dead horse

      "Wow, even Microsoft have given up on their mobile OS... even though they've fucked up their Desktop OS to suit it."

      Where do you read that in this article ???

  4. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
    Mushroom

    Embrace, Extend...

    Embrace - Announce support for a competitors OS

    Extend - Sign up to ship your crap with a major player

    you know the rest.

    Samsung is a goner. HTC will be next.

    Suddenly there are no major Android makers other than Google and Moto.

    Windows Phone gets to 20%. Sataya gets a 50% bonus.

    Siri goes apoplectic.

    Job done.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Embrace, Extend...

      'Suddenly there are no major Android makers other than Google and Moto'

      Don't Google only make Chromecast, driverless cars and Glass as their droid devices are all built by 3rd parties (HTC, LG, Sammy, Huawei, Asus, Moto/Lenovo)?

  5. Sebastian A

    Isn't the Knox brand toxic?

    I figure they'd have dropped it by now. Unless they're really committed to the "you're not buying a phone, you're only borrowing it, we still own it." stance.

  6. Mr.Bill

    knox

    Maybe its nothing new to some of you but I finally started using it and its a great feature.

    My work exchange server only gives me the option of pin or password, with only 10 minutes max autolock delay. I don't like it dictating my personal phone usage, not to mention it could wipe my phone. By using knox I can restrict that to just the knox sandbox and keep the main phone howerver I want. Also I can keep my work contacts separate. I don't want them getting lumped into my personal google contacts.

    I never was clear on if an app can get permission for "read contacts" like facebook, would it also be able to get my exchange work contacts. But now, I don't have to know, as they are isolated.

    I don't care if MS bundles some stuff - it could be worse. You can simply disable apps like that and they won't be seen.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: knox

      But you can't root it - Knox will instantly kill itself, forever and ever, with no way to use Knox on that handset in the future. There's a lot of investigation over at XDA.

      1. 20legend

        Re: knox

        On KK Towelroot allowed root without tripping Knox, however Dr Injong Rhee can go and fornicate himself with the raggy end of a Pineapple IMO...

  7. h4rm0ny

    So much hate, here.

    It's breathtaking, it really is.

  8. Gis Bun

    Wonder if Samsung will continue their push by dumping anything from Google Apps and Google Drive. After all, most say Office 365 is far superior to Google Apps.

  9. Little Poppet

    so negative, wow!

    It's so sad to see people here not embracing the Microsoft option. It's as if you are happy with just having Google Apps unchallenged.

    On another note, Office 365 is in a totally different league to Google Apps. Cue excuses that users don't need the full functionality of Office and Google Apps are just 'good enough'...

    1. Nick Ryan Silver badge

      Re: so negative, wow!

      But it is true, for the large majority of cases, that Google Apps are "good enough". Most users of MS Word do not write multi-column, multi-chapter index integrated tightly version controlled monster documents - for these users a PC is little more than a glorified typewriter. Some parts of the "office suite" the Google Doc editors are actually better than the Office 365 versions.

      However when you need to go beyond, for example, a relatively simply structured document or letter, then you will quickly find the shortcomings of the Google Doc editors. While there are "plugins" that help to alleviate the gap in functionality, experience has shown most of them to be pretty appalling - getting better but still not very good.

    2. conscience

      Re: so negative, wow!

      Maybe people don't want to embrace bundled bloatware from either Google or MS.

      Functionality aside, neither can actually be trusted.

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