Nothing makes Microsoft happier than seeing an iPhone user ditch their device for a Windows Phone smartphone. In fact, the company will even buy your iPhone off you if you promise to make the switch.
Starting this Friday, you’ll be able to take your old iPhone 4s or iPhone 5 into select Microsoft stores across the U.S. and Canada and receive a minimum of $200 in-store credit for a new Windows Phone device. The move comes weeks after Microsoft kicked off an iPad trade-in program to encourage consumers to switch to its Surface tablet.
“According to an inside source at Microsoft, Microsoft Stores will begin giving a minimum $200 in-store credit for iPhones on Friday as part of its “#timetoswitch” campaign, obviously hoping consumers will use the cash to buy a Windows Phone,” Forbes reports.
Microsoft has been encouraging consumers to switch to Windows and Windows Phone devices for a long time, and this campaign is one of many that hopes to speed up the switching process by offering credit when you trade in rival devices. The software giant has been allowing customers to trade in iPads against Surface tablets for the past few weeks, and it’s also running an online campaign that lets you trade in any Apple, Android, or BlackBerry device for a Visa gift card.
But Microsoft’s new iPhone trade-in program may be a little too late. Apple launched its new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c last Friday, and both devices have been hugely successful, with a record 9 million units sold during the launch weekend alone. The company also launched its new iOS 7 software a week ago.
There’s clearly a lot of interest in the new iPhones, then, and users appear to be loving the new software. So trying to lure them away from their beloved Apple devices could prove to be more difficult than ever before.
Source: Forbes
