HTC targets iPhone owners, hopes to draw converts by syncing from iPhone backups

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Eclipsed by Samsung's rise, HTC is planning to claw back market share in the smartphone sector by targeting a specific set of users with its high-quality flagship unit: iPhone owners.

HTC One


When the new HTC One launches in March, the Taiwanese manufacturer will roll out a new version of its HTC Sync Manager desktop application. The new version will have an added feature: the ability to extract information from iPhone backup files. That information would allow iPhone users switching to the One to transfer their photos, calendar entries, text messages, videos, and more.

CNet Asia, which first reported on the new Sync Manager, says it is unclear whether the software will work across both PC and Mac platforms, but previous versions of it did.

Initial reactions to the One have been quite positive, with tech media praising the handset's spec sheet ? which includes a quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 1080p display ? as well as the high build quality of its unibody, machined aluminum chassis. Earlier this month, a leaked image of the device circulated around the Web showing an exterior design closely resembling Apple's iPhone 5.

HTC One


How the One will fare in attracting iPhone users, though, has yet to be seen. Brand loyalty among iOS device users is a major driver behind the power and popularity of the platform, with some observers estimating a cumulative iOS customer value of $295 billion.

Apple's iOS ecosystem ? both its app environment and accessory environment ? is a major factor in customer loyalty. Many of the top apps for iOS are also available for Android, so HTC may see some traction on that front. The manufacturer will have a harder time, though, getting iPhone users to abandon the accessory ecosystem, in which some may have invested hundreds ? even thousands ? of dollars.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 38


    Good luck with that! It's a one way street.

  • Reply 2 of 38
    larryalarrya Posts: 606member
    "The manufacturer will have a harder time, though, getting iPhone users to abandon the accessory ecosystem, in which some may have invested hundreds — even thousands — of dollars."

    Apple already removed this obstacle for me with the lightning connector.
  • Reply 3 of 38
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member


    Sounds like the makings of the Palm Pre syncing debacle all over again.

  • Reply 4 of 38
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    Bad strategy.


     


    Especially given HTC's huge slip in sales, it would be far wiser for them to try and target their competitors, which includes Samsung and other Android phone makers.


     


    As numerous studies have shown, most iPhone owners are extremely satisfied and have no intentions of switching. When people are extremely satisfied with what they've already got, they're not going to switch. Apple has higher satisfaction ratings than anybody else. An Android phone maker attempting to steal away a few iPhone users seems like a huge waste of time. If somebody was going out with a hot chick, at least an 8.2 on the hotness scale, would they dump that chick and shack up with an ugly duckling, somebody who is ranked no higher than 4.5? It makes no sense at all, unless somebody has an ugly fetish of course, and in that case, maybe they might like Android phones.


     


    And even if an iPhone user was able to sync up their photos, text messages etc., over to an Android phone, then so what? You're not going to be able to use any of the iOS apps that you have and use, so what's the point? Nobody is going to switch over to Android because of Android's amazing app selection. The difference between the iOS ecosystem and Android's ecosystem is like the difference between heaven and hell.

  • Reply 5 of 38
    larrya wrote: »
    "The manufacturer will have a harder time, though, getting iPhone users to abandon the accessory ecosystem, in which some may have invested hundreds — even thousands — of dollars."

    Apple already removed this obstacle for me with the lightning connector.

    Nonsense. You would've switched anyway. Anyone who seriously wants to keep their 30-pin dock connector accessories can do so with the lightning-to-dock-connector adapter. I've got one; it works great with my sound dock.
  • Reply 6 of 38
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by LarryA View Post



    "The manufacturer will have a harder time, though, getting iPhone users to abandon the accessory ecosystem, in which some may have invested hundreds — even thousands — of dollars."



    Apple already removed this obstacle for me with the lightning connector.


     


    Just as they did with people who had invested hundreds of dollars in floppy discs back in 1998, and now CDs/DVDs.  And what about people who invested in serial or parallel port devices on PCs?  ADB, PS/2, SCSI, Firewire, ... the list goes on and on.

  • Reply 7 of 38
    Samsung should stop going against apple.
  • Reply 8 of 38
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Bad strategy.


     


    ...



     


    I wouldn't say it will get them very far, but I wouldn't say "bad strategy" either.  


     


    One of the biggest holes in the Android system is the fact that you can't really do backups very well and almost no backup software exists.  I have a couple of friends who lost everything on an Android phone through the use of a simple "reset phone" command which wipes everything out.  Once of them was even a victim of a deliberate prank in that regard, loaning their phone to a friend for just a moment and then having that "friend" wipe out all their contacts, pictures and music in seconds.  


     


    I've also demonstrated the iPhone to people and had them been effusive over the fact that they will never lose their contact info ever again.  Several have told me that they always ignored contact and address book apps in the past because "... at some point you lose everything anyway," (but no more).  


     


    I think Android vendors in general would do well to implement and showcase this sort of thing.  

  • Reply 9 of 38
    larrya wrote: »
    "The manufacturer will have a harder time, though, getting iPhone users to abandon the accessory ecosystem, in which some may have invested hundreds — even thousands — of dollars."

    Apple already removed this obstacle for me with the lightning connector.

    And Apple provides adapters for those who want to use their existing accessories with their brand new iPhone 5.

    I understand your complaint. But seriously... Apple changing their connector after 10 years... that really isn't as bad as you think it is.

    At least Apple has an accessory ecosystem. It's very difficult to find accessories for MicroUSB devices.

    Again... I understand this period of adjustment will be tricky. But if the new Lightning Connector lasts another 10 years... it will be fine.
  • Reply 10 of 38
    gazoobee wrote: »
    I wouldn't say it will get them very far, but I wouldn't say "bad strategy" either.  

    One of the biggest holes in the Android system is the fact that you can't really do backups very well and almost no backup software exists.  I have a couple of friends who lost everything on an Android phone through the use of a simple "reset phone" command which wipes everything out.  Once of them was even a victim of a deliberate prank in that regard, loaning their phone to a friend for just a moment and then having that "friend" wipe out all their contacts, pictures and music in seconds.  

    I've also demonstrated the iPhone to people and had them been effusive over the fact that they will never lose their contact info ever again.  Several have told me that they always ignored contact and address book apps in the past because "... at some point you lose everything anyway," (but no more).  

    I think Android vendors in general would do well to implement and showcase this sort of thing.  

    Doesn't Google automatically back up your contacts in GMail?
  • Reply 11 of 38
    kdarlingkdarling Posts: 1,640member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


    One of the biggest holes in the Android system is the fact that you can't really do backups very well and almost no backup software exists.  I have a couple of friends who lost everything on an Android phone through the use of a simple "reset phone" command which wipes everything out.  



     


    A full reset can be done to an iOS device as well.


     


     


    Like many people, I've had all my contacts stored in Google for years.  What's really nice is that Google supports almost every kind of device.


     


    It doesn't matter if you bought an iPhone, a WebOS Palm Pre, a Windows phone, or an Android device... just sign into Google when you get them, and within seconds down comes all your contacts, mail and calendar entries.  And with Chrome, so do your bookmarks.  Nowadays, even the apps can come down automatically if you wish.


     


    If you make a change, the info is kept instantly updated between all the devices.  I have four iPod touches, 2 iPads, three commonly used Android tablets, and two Android phones, that all can keep sync'd up. (I finally turned automatic email sync off half of them, because it got kind of crazy when an email came in, and they'd all start chiming around the house - grin).


     


    Photos I keep uploaded on my Flickr Pro account where they're safe.

  • Reply 12 of 38
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Michael Scrip View Post





    Doesn't Google automatically back up your contacts in GMail?


    Yes, Google's Android automatically backs up your contacts.


     


    http://support.google.com/android/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=168906


     


    http://support.google.com/android/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1665500


     


     


    Get your contacts


     


     


    If you have a Google Account, any contacts associated with that account are automatically backed up by Google. This means all your contacts are always available on the web and can be synced to any Android phone that's set up with the same account.



    As a result, even if you lose your phone, switch to a new phone, or use a desktop computer, your contacts are always available.


     


     


    Backing up and restoring your data


     


    You can back up your settings and other data with your Google Account, so if you ever replace your tablet, you can restore your data on the new one. If you choose to use this service, your data is backed up automatically.



    If you previously used the backup service with the Google Account you just used to sign in, you can also choose to restore your settings from your Google Account to your tablet now.


     


    Important: If you want to restore your settings, you must do that now during setup. You can’t restore data after setup is complete.


     


    Many kinds of data are backed up, including:



    • Your Android settings, such as your Wi-Fi networks and passwords, user dictionary, and so on


    • Many Google application settings, such as your Browser bookmarks


    • The apps you download on Google Play

  • Reply 13 of 38
    Doesn't Apple receive $8 for each of these sold? Nice outcome if it does catch on and especially if it eats into Samsung sales.
  • Reply 14 of 38
    gatorguy wrote: »
    Yes, Google's Android automatically backs up your contacts.

    Thanks... I thought so.

    I remember countless times hearing "I lost my phone... send me your phone numbers" long ago.

    Android kinda prevents that now.
  • Reply 15 of 38
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member


    **duplicate**

  • Reply 16 of 38
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member


    God this story reads like something that would come from cnet.  My guess is HTC is targeting more than iPhone users, but throwing iPhone or Apple in the headline gets more clicks.

  • Reply 17 of 38
    rogifan wrote: »
    God this story reads like something that would come from cnet.  My guess is HTC is targeting more than iPhone users, but throwing iPhone or Apple in the headline gets more clicks.

    Well... the article does say this:

    "... HTC Sync Manager... will have an added feature: the ability to extract information from iPhone backup files."
  • Reply 18 of 38
    majjomajjo Posts: 574member
    Thanks... I thought so.

    I remember countless times hearing "I lost my phone... send me your phone numbers" long ago.

    Android kinda prevents that now.

    I don't think Google syncs photos or SMS (unless you use Google voice).
  • Reply 19 of 38
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by currentinterest View Post



    Doesn't Apple receive $8 for each of these sold? Nice outcome if it does catch on and especially if it eats into Samsung sales.


    That' what analyst Shaw Wu thinks so it must be true.


     


    /s

  • Reply 20 of 38
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    gatorguy wrote: »
    Yes, Google's Android automatically backs up your contacts.

    Of course. How is Google going to steal your private information if they don't download it to their servers?
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