BlackBerry is trying to stage a comeback and cement its relevance in the smartphone industry. And one way to do this is to go after the biggest fish in the market today – Apple’s iPhone.
This holiday season, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company is offering owners of Apple’s handset up to US$ 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 starting 1 December 2014 and runs until 13 February 2015, 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.
Taking a closer look at the discount, it is clear that the company is offering US$ 150 with a prepaid gift card, plus up to US$ 400 for the trade-in depending on the model and condition of the iPhone. However, once the consumer realizes that they can probably get more for their iPhone by selling it themselves, 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 the top discount of US$ 400, while a beaten up 4S will likely score next to nothing.
Blackberry has just made available for pre-order red and white versions of the Passport to go alongside the existing black model, so if consumers are thinking of dumping their iPhone for a Passport, they 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.
Other BlackBerry incentives launched for holiday shoppers include a straight US$ 100 discount on the unlocked black BlackBerry Passport, leaving it with a US$ 499 price tag, and the same discount for the white model, taking it down to US$ 599. However, at the moment, the red version remains priced at US$ 699 on BlackBerry’s website.
In addition, a hefty US$ 175 has been lopped off the price of the Z30, making it available for US$ 225.
This holiday season, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company is offering owners of Apple’s handset up to US$ 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 starting 1 December 2014 and runs until 13 February 2015, 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.
Taking a closer look at the discount, it is clear that the company is offering US$ 150 with a prepaid gift card, plus up to US$ 400 for the trade-in depending on the model and condition of the iPhone. However, once the consumer realizes that they can probably get more for their iPhone by selling it themselves, 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 the top discount of US$ 400, while a beaten up 4S will likely score next to nothing.
Blackberry has just made available for pre-order red and white versions of the Passport to go alongside the existing black model, so if consumers are thinking of dumping their iPhone for a Passport, they 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.
Other BlackBerry incentives launched for holiday shoppers include a straight US$ 100 discount on the unlocked black BlackBerry Passport, leaving it with a US$ 499 price tag, and the same discount for the white model, taking it down to US$ 599. However, at the moment, the red version remains priced at US$ 699 on BlackBerry’s website.
In addition, a hefty US$ 175 has been lopped off the price of the Z30, making it available for US$ 225.
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