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How To Keep 'Costs' Of Switching From iPhone To Motorola RAZR Low

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Systems can be sticky and users can be loyal to a product just because switching is such a hassle.  Many smartphone owners would just prefer to stick with what they know rather than learn a new system or input all their data all over again.  With all the hoopla about Apple losing its market share, I wondered how difficult it would be to switch away from the iPhone.   I was intrigued by the RAZR's  home screen and have always been a fan of Motorola phones (remember the StarTac?).  The question for Apple and Google investors is how high are the switching costs between iPhones and Android phones?

For me, aside from voice, the three most important functions of the phone are contacts, calendars and email.  Google makes this transition very easy, if you already use or adopt Gmail.

Contacts:  Gmail makes moving over contacts and transferring email simple.  You import your contacts into Google contacts and then the contacts are automatically populated in the new phone.

Calendars:  If you use iCal that comes on the iPhone, then it takes an additional step.  You must export your calendars one by one, and then import each one into Google calendars.  The only downside is that all of your differently delineated calendars on iCal become one calendar in Google.  Again, the process was fast and painless.

Email:  Convert to Gmail or forward all of your email to a gmail account.

Converting the essentials wasn’t too hard.  I was relieved.  But, for me, music is almost as important as voice on my phone.  I was very concerned about what would happen with my music library.

Music:  Just like the transfers above, I googled how to transfer music from iTunes to the new RAZR phone.  The two dominant and most popular answers from my Google search didn’t work.  They were to simply plug the USB cable from my computer to my new phone, or to download DoubleTwist.   The free version of DoubleTwist did not work and I did not try the upgrade.  However, the third try was fast and convenient:  Simply download Google Play and transfer music over.  It takes a while for the music to copy, but it is seamless and convenient.  And, most importantly,  I did not lose any music.

AirPlay and iCloud:  These do not work, obviously.  Google has its own cloud storage so you can back up your information, it  is not compatible sync with your other Apple devices.   It is personal preference if this matters.  Many iPhone owners I know use PCs; many Android phone owners I know run Macs.   Many people operate their phone independently from other devices or do not care if their calendar and contacts are stored in Google or Apple clouds.  On the other, if one is used to and likes the Apple calendar and contacts, then the RZAR’s different system is awkward.

The bottom line was that switching critical data from the iPhone to the RAZR was painless, once I found the right tool to use for the music transfer, even for a decade-plus devoted Apple user.  However, the information from my calendar, contacts, etc was not synced into iCloud and other Apple devices, obviously, so it required using the Google apps on all devices.  In theory, this is no different than using iCloud – your data will be stored in the cloud rather than on your devices.  In reality, it just takes getting used to.

The RAZR had some distinct advantages over the iPhone.  These depend, of course, on the iPhone model or Android model one uses.  The screen on the RAZR is bigger and more brilliant than on the iPhone.  Android apps were smaller so more could fit on a screen.  The RAZR allows users to add memory, whereas iPhone users are limited to the memory size of the iPhone purchased.   Another feature of the RARZ is that it graphically displays how much battery life is left with how much each app is consuming to give users more “control” over battery life.  In the models I tested, the RAZR battery would last between two days whereas I can barely get through one day of use with the iPhone battery.

iPhone has some distinct advantages over the RAZR.  The last detail I tested was the most challenging to get accustomed to:  voicemail.  Voicemail on the iPhone is elegant and easy, with a display of recorded voicemails and when they came in.  So, one is aware of who called when.  You can choose to listen to the voicemail in any order, by touching the screen and the message plays.  For the RAZR, it was the old fashioned voicemail where one has to call to retrieve voicemail, and messages are played in the order they were received.  (Please note, and thank you readers, the comments below.   Voicemail depends on the carrier and the model.  Commenters below say that Google Voice works like iPhone voicemail.) Lastly, there appear to be many more accessories for Apple’s iPhones than Motorola or Samsung smartphones, including stylish cases or speaker systems.  There is a very fashionable and promoted ecosystem around Apple that, to date, does not exist as visibly, if at all, for Android phones.

Part of the Apple allure is the ecosystem surrounding its products.  Most iPhone owners have 2.3 Apple devices and have become indoctrinated with the iOS and OSX operating systems, plus many accessories and purchased apps.  I, for one, own six Apple devices (iPhone, iPod, iPad, MacBook Air, iMac and Apple tv).   Many people I spoke to about their propensity to switch phones, however, did not cite their investment in devices but rather their investment in apps.

The more technical-savvy people I interviewed regarding the Apple iOS versus Google Android provided consistent feedback:  Google’s Android allows for more customization while Apple iOS users do not have much flexibility to change the look and feel of their iPhones.  Apple’s ease of use can go both ways:  Some people like the plug and play nature without having to think about set up in any way; others prefer to customize their phones.

Admittedly, it was fairly easy to switch to an Adroid phone from my iPhone.    And, it was easy for me to switch back to the iPhone from using the RAZR when my teenage daughter insisted on testing the RAZR.  Without assistance, she figured it out quickly, as well.  Yet, she remains ambivalent between the two phones:  loves the bigger brighter screen of the RAZR, misses many of her game apps of the iPhone and is still searching for cute accouterments for RAZR that are abundant for the iPhone.  For the time being, she carries both smartphones because her school app is only available on iOS.

Apple and Google have made it easy to switch between smartphones.  However, the ecosystems around the phones and the investments in the apps and accessories may keep users locked into one system over another.  And if users switch, it is not clear if they will stay with the new system or return to the former.  As smartphone prices come down (an iPhone 4S is now as low as $99), it will become easier to check out the competing system.  Both Apple and Google will now need to spend greater attention on the platform, the greater system around the smartphone, and investors should too. Platforms are critical for long-term sustainability.  For now, Apple stock appears stuck as investors are concerned about smartphone market share.  Should Apple introduce products or services that further create a “walled garden” or incentives to stay within their ecosystem, then the stock will begin to behave like a growth stock again. Until then, we will have to wait and see Apple’s next move.

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