BlackBerry is desperate to stay relevant in the increasingly competitive smartphone market, so much so, that they are offering customers in the US and Canada up to $400 cash to trade in their iPhones, and a $150 prepaid Visa card, netting converters a total of $650 (€440) if they switch over.
In order to avail of the offer, customers will need to buy the new BlackBerry Passport phone at a cost of $599, off-contract. The deal is all part of the 'BlackBerry Trade Up' programme.
iPhones from the 4S onwards will be accepted under the scheme, and the amount paid out will be dependent on the condition that the phone is in. The offer will be available between December 1st and February 13th.
The company has decided to stay loyal to the brand's classic look. BlackBerry hopes to reach out to business users who have traditionally been fans of the phone.
It is thought that the company currently has as little as 1 percent of the smartphone market.
Last month, Blackberry CEO John Chen published an open letter on BlackBerry's blog, calling on users to stay loyal to the struggling brand: "It’s tempting in a rapidly changing, rapidly growing mobile market to change for the sake of change – to mimic what’s trendy and match the industry standard, kitchen-sink approach of trying to be all things to all people [...] But there’s also something to be said for the classic adage, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it."
