Samsung Galaxy S3 is first Android phone SAFE for work

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is safe for work -- in fact it's SAFE. But does that mean other Android phones are unsafe?

The S3 is the first phone to be certified SAFE, or 'Samsung Approved For Enterprise'. The Korean company reckons this new scheme will make its phones and tablets secure to keep your work emails, files and other data safely locked away, as well as keeping them in step with your office's IT policies.

You'll also be able to safely collaborate with and share data with colleagues packing SAFE phones and tablets, securely sharing presentations, PDFs and documents.

Samsung says SAFE "defragments" the various versions of Android, providing "a consistent level of IT compliance" where previously different devices, running different levels of Android software, may not measure up. It's this fragmentation that makes the arrival of consumer gadgets in the business world such a headache for IT teams.

Samsung reckons SAFE is safe enough even for regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services and government. It's secured by on-device AES 256-bit encryption, as used by the US government. VPN and mobile device management (MDM) support mean you can acess work systems from your phone and have your IT team remotely take over your phone for technical support, or to wipe it when lost.

The SAFE initiative has been announced this week by US phone networks, along with a trade-in scheme to swap your old phone or iPhone for an S3. I've contacted Samsung to ask if we'll be SAFE as houses here in the UK, but haven't had confirmation either way yet. We hope it does arrive in Britain, to help break the tyranny of the BlackBerry in businesses across the land. Plus, when IT hands us a new phone we get to say, "Is it SAFE? Is it SAFE?"

Would you use an S3 for work? How does your company feel about your phone? Safely transmit your thoughts in the comments or on our thoroughly dangerous Facebook page.