Single-click Android app install/upgrade for Enterprise

1. I've built an Android application that will be used by the employees of my company (aka Enterprise).
2. I do NOT want this application to be distributed via Android Market (or any other Market unless it is my own Market).
3. I suppose my end users know very little about software distribution on mobile devices, about Android OS, and computers in general.
4. I'm interested in a single-click installation/upgra开发者_开发问答de.
5. I prefer that the APK file will be inaccessible/nontransferable after the installation.

What I've tried so far: I've created an APK, put it on my own server protected by user-password, and added MIME type to be android package archive... My users can log in to the server and download the APK file.

From now on it's a total mess (I've checked on different devices and OS versions): 1. Some devices will show the Downloads folder immediately after the installation, and some won't (in which case a newbie user gets lost immediately). 2. Some devices have different kinds of File Managers, so if you click on the downloaded APK, the behavior is different from device to device. 3. Click on the downloaded APK might have different behavior from double-click on the same APK. 4. Some devices will require uninstall before upgrade, while others won't. 5. etc...

All the above makes the installation very hard to impossible for a large number of my users.

I'm looking for a single-click installation: I send a link to a user, he clicks the link, the application is downloaded and installed (and nice to have: the (advanced) user does NOT have a way to access the APK).

I want something similar to the iPhone Enterprise Distribution (you get to company's server, click on a link, the application is being downloaded and installed).

If you've created some kind of easy installation, please share your experience.

Thank you.

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You have to create a "installable" link, i.e. a link that when clicked produces a HTTP reply with Content-type header set to application/vnd.android.package-archive.

This is usually done by mapping the .apk file type to application/vnd.android.package-archive MIME type on your server. What kind of HTTP server are you using?

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I have worked on a solution for this problem.. My solution is to email a download link to all devices with a link to the file. They download and start it, go to settings check "install from unknown sources", start the APK again (...), and install. The upgrade sequence is much simpler, I have a hard link in the app that points to the latest version of the apk, the donwload starts and automatically laucnhes the install.

AS LONG as the APK is SIGNED with the same key, and the version code is updated you wont have any problem with the "uninstall issue"