Microsoft has a new marketing strategy to attract Apple users by offering a minimum $200 gift card in an exchange scheme for iPads users , which they can redeem to purchase a Surface RT, Surface Pro, or any other product at the company's retail outlets.
Have you been planning on changing your tablets? Here might be your chance. A new deal, exclusive to iPad owners, gives a chance to trade-in their "gently used" iPad 2, 3, or 4 for a $200 gift card minimum, which can be used to purchase any Microsoft product including Surface RT and Surface Pro.
Microsoft's new deal is a limited time offer, which kicked off September 5 and runs through October 27, 2013. According to the company, the offer is available in select brick-and-mortar Microsoft stores in the U.S., including Puerto Rico and Canada, but is not available online.
The new offer is aimed at luring iPad users away from Apple and giving a chance to try out the wide range of Microsoft's Surface devices. Microsoft launched the new deal as a part of its continued efforts to get the Surface devices off the shelves.
Last month, the software giant permanently slashed the prices of its Surface devices by up to $100. Following the price-cut, the Surface Pro starts at $799, while the Surface RT bundles start at $399. Microsoft also promised to offer free Surface RT units to schools in exchange for using its ad-free Bing search platform.
Earlier in July, Microsoft lost $900 million on Surface RT despite the second quarter earnings estimated rise in revenue and profit.
But the company's efforts to turn the tables have not failed. Microsoft is expected to unveil refreshed versions of its Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 devices at an event scheduled September 23, 2013, in New York.
