Although badly trailing iOS and Android in terms of market share, Microsoft’s Windows Phone mobile operating system often leads in terms of clever marketing. Microsoft just released a “Switch to Windows Phone” app for Android that works with a companion app on the Windows Phone Store to help users migrate from Android to Windows Phone 8.
Users interested in switching from Android to Windows Phone can download the free app on their current Android device. With the user’s permission, the app determines which Android apps are currently installed and attempts to find a Windows Phone version of each app. If any particular app does not have a Windows Phone version, similar apps that are available on Redmond’s mobile OS will be recommended.
Once the matching process is complete, the user must install the companion app on their Windows Phone. Using SkyDrive, the Windows Phone app reads the data collected by the Android app and gives the user a simple way to download all the matched and recommended apps.
Although the Android app works without the companion Windows Phone app, only partial functionality is provided. For example, the Android app displays only an ambiguous overall percentage of compatible titles; to see specifically which apps match, a user must install the Windows Phone app and link it to the Android app. This has ruffled the feathers of many Android users who haven’t yet purchased a Windows Phone and were only curious to see how many of their favorite Android apps could be found in the Windows Phone Store, resulting a deluge of negative ratings on the Google Play Store.
Microsoft will hopefully update the Android app to provide more details on matching apps. But for users who have already decided to switch to Windows Phone and who have obtained their new devices, the pair of apps offers a novel way to make new customers feel at ease with the transition, knowing that many of their favorite applications will be waiting for them in the land of Metro.
Both apps are free on the Google Play and Windows Phone Stores. The Android version requires Android 2.3.3 or newer, while the Windows Phone version is restricted to devices running Windows Phone 8.
