Oh, how how the mighty have fallen. BlackBerry used to be the undisputed kings of the premium cellphone market; now, the Canadian company is offering up to $550 a pop to iPhone users willing to trade in their handset for a new BlackBerry Passport.
In a new holiday “Trade-Up program,” owners of the Apple iPhone 4S, 5, 5C, 5S and 6 are eligible to receive a a lump sum of up to $550 (depending on model), as well as the Passport, if they agree to hand over their old cellphone. The offer runs from Dec. 1 through to Feb. 13, 2015.
Previously a market leader in the mobile business, Blackberry has had very serious difficulties in recent years, as Google and Apple’s smartphone offerings have steadily eroded its position. According to IDC polling, just 0.5% of smartphone users were running BlackBerry OS in Quarter 2 of 2014, down from 13.6% in 2011.
If you find the promise of cold, hard cash alluring—and you’re not put off by BlackBerry OS’s paltry app ecosystem—you can see how much you’re eligible to receive on BlackBerry’s website.
H/T Engadget | Photo via Maurizio Pesce/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Rob Price