Google Inc. (GOOG) to Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): There’s an App for That

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android smartphone users – OK, well at least those who are not fanboys of Android, but rather just have smartphone because it’s affordable – this might be for you. Are you someone who is open-minded about smartphones? Are you dissatisfied with your current Android device and you might be considering a jump to another operating system, but you don’t want to go through the hassle of having to individually upload a;l the new versions of the apps that you have on your current phone? Does Windows Phone by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) look interesting to you?

Well guess what? Thanks to Microsoft Corporation, there is truly an app for that. In an effort to sway some Android users away from that OS – which controls about 70 percent of the current market share in smartphones, based on any number of surveys – Microsoft has come out with a “Switch to Windows Phone” app, which first appeared in the Google Play store just this week. This is the same week that Microsoft and Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) came out with a viral video ad that mocks Samsung Galaxy and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone users while touting the Nokia Lumia line of handsets that run on Windows 8 Phone.

Well now, the “Switch to Windows Phone” app apparently sets the stage for a Google Inc. Android defection. What happens with the app is a user opens it and the app will check the apps on the current Android phone and will make a list of equivalent apps for Windows Phone (like Twitter or WhatsApp), and Microsoft Corporation will offer to store them in the cloud. There those apps will be for you to retrieve once you have your new Windows phone activated. While some of the most popular Android apps are not available on Windows yet, this app seems to greatly reduce the amount of time and effort a user would take to locate and download every single app from his or her old Android phone that they would want on a new Windows phone.

In case you are wondering, Microsoft Corporation does not have a similar app for iOS yet, and there are no indications from the company whether it is working on one or has plans for one to go into the Apple Inc. App Store. But what do you think? Bold move by Microsoft, and do you think it can work in Redmond’s favor? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.