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Blackberry offers money to Apple fanboys to recant their faith

by on27 November 2014



Good luck with that

Blackberry has started what could become a religious war with the Apple cargo cult by trying to tempt them from their spiritual path with money. A promotion, which starts Monday, promises as much as $550 to iPhone owners who trade in their handsets in favour of BlackBerry's Passport. The actual trade-in value depends on the iPhone, with the iPhone 4S worth up to $90 and the iPhone 6 worth up to $400. Blackberry does not want the iPhone 6 plus as it is too bendy to sell on.

BlackBerry then sweetens the deal by kicking in an additional $150 as a topper for each iPhone. The deal will run through February 13, but it's good only in North America. Customers must buy the $599 to $699 unlocked Passport phone through either BlackBerry's website or Amazon. The trade-in amount comes in the form of a Visa prepaid card.

The Tame Apple press has extolled the faithful not to listen to the Blackberry temptation. They argue that since BlackBerry's global smartphone market share is now less than 1 percent it cannot be superior to Apple. It claims that the move is just “desperation.”

But there is a real chance that once an Apple user tries another phone, they might realise that others can build better shiny toys and never go back. BlackBerry is targeting the passport toward "power professionals," being serious users who prefer a traditional physical keyboard and focus mostly on email and text. Available unlocked in the US, the Passport is so named because it's about the size and shape of an actual passport.

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