In a move that has not been very typical of Microsoft, the company is reportedly offering smartphone users an incentive to trade-in their iPhone. Microsoft is hoping to see iPhone users bring in their old iPhone 5S, iPhone 5 or the iPhone 4S to get a $200 reward if they choose to switch to a Windows Phone powered device. According to one online source, Microsoft will be offering at least $200 for the old iPhone models if users bring it into select Microsoft stores in the United States and Canada.
Microsoft had offered a similar option for those with an iPad, giving a switch incentive to those that wanted to try out the new Windows 8 tablet from the company. The deal might be tempting to some users with an older iPhone that do not feel like upgrading to the iPhone 5S, but honestly, most iPhone users are finding that older iPhone sell very well on eBay and Craigslist. With that in mind, a consumer could still sell their iPhone and then take that money to Microsoft to pick out a Windows Phone powered device if they wanted to.
Microsoft is not offering you top dollar for your used device, but if you want to get the deal done and without hassle, the company’s offer might not be a bad one. The deal from Microsoft might be a little too late, since most of the consumers that were going to upgrade, did so with 9 million others that upgraded in the first weekend that Apple offered the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C for sale. The main reason that anyone would switch to a Windows Phone powered device would be on a contract expiration and they are fed up with iOS and the iPhone altogether.
Even though that is not likely, if you have had an iPhone for some time, you might want to try something different and going with a Windows Phone powered smartphone would certainly be a big change on your part. Microsoft is not likely to see any sort of major shift of users over to its devices, but it is still a nice option to offer consumers that might not be sure what to do with their older iPhone. Microsoft took a hit on its Surface tablet line, so anything they can try to gain attention would be expected.
