Box Updates Android App With Box Notes Support

Box has updated its Android application, adding full support for the Box Notes collaboration platform, expiration dates for shared links and new policies for administrators.

The cloud storage firm added Box Notes support to its iOS application in June but says a high quality app for Android is necessary given the operating system’s popularity.

“With Android running on 85 percent of new smartphones shipping in Q2, it’s more important than ever to offer a beautiful, fast and easy to use app that powers productivity for mobile workers around the world,” the company explains.

Box Notes for Android

Users on Android 4.4 KitKat can now create, view and edit Box Notes directly from within the application, with full integration into the app’s native menus. Box says it has been so eager to ensure that the real-time collaboration aspect of Box Notes is maintained, it has taken steps to ensure it will load quickly even on old cellular connections.

Other new features include easy access to the 25 most recently viewed files and the ability to prevent others from downloading files straight from the app when sending a shared link. Meanwhile admins can set new policies that allow only trusted third party apps to access content stored on Box and can also stop users from copying text to the system clipboard. Users can also delete comments on files and there is a new pull-to-refresh gesture in folders.

Both the web and mobile versions of Box Notes are available in all of the languages supported by Box, with  text automatically displayed according to local language preferences, and users can now create checklists in Box Notes files.

The company says there are more “exciting” features in the works and suggests they could be revealed at its Boxworks event next month in San Francisco.

Box’s rival Dropbox announced a major update to its business service last month, adding collaboration features in the form of Project Harmony.

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