By ,
Published November 04, 2015
BlackBerry is going after iPhone users this holiday season, offering owners of Apple’s handset up to $550 if they swap it for the recently released BlackBerry Passport, the business-focused smartphone noted for its square display.
The deal, which kicks off on Dec. 1 and runs till Feb. 13, is valid for U.S.- and Canada-based shoppers only. In addition, the phone has to be purchased at shopblackberry.com in the U.S and Canada, or shipped from and sold by Amazon.com in the U.S.
Related: DT’s in-depth look at the BlackBerry Passport
Taking a closer look at the discount, we see that the Waterloo, Ontario company is offering $150 with a prepaid gift card (CAD$200 for those north of the border), plus up to $400 for the trade-in depending on the model and condition of your iPhone. However, when you realize you can probably get more for your iPhone by selling it yourself, the offer begins to look a little hollow.
Open to anyone with an iPhone 4S and up, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in excellent condition will obviously bag you the top discount of $400, while a beaten up 4S will likely score you next to nothing.
The company has just made available for pre-order red and white versions of the Passport to go alongside the existing black model, so if you are thinking of dumping your iPhone for a Passport, you now have several flavors to choose from.
But how many sales will BlackBerry realistically be able to make through its limited-time offer? The company’s troubles in the handset business have been documented to death, while the Passport is aimed primarily at business users, cutting out a major chunk of the market from the off. Perhaps it believes there are former BlackBerry owners out there regretting their hot-headed dash to the iPhone, who long to once again feel a BlackBerry’s physical keys beneath their fingers, and that a trade-in offer like this is precisely what’s needed to win them back.
Related: Would running back to BlackBerry be a mistake?
Other BlackBerry incentives launched for holiday shoppers include a straight $100 discount on the unlocked black BlackBerry Passport, leaving it with a $499 price tag, and the same discount for the white model, taking it down to $599. However, at the time of writing, the red version remains priced at $699 on BlackBerry’s website.
In addition, a hefty $175 has been lopped off the price of the Z30, making it available for $225.
[Source: BlackBerry]
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/swap-your-iphone-for-a-passport-and-blackberry-will-give-you-up-to-550