There’s no doubt in the fact that Microsoft sees the iPad as a big hurdle in the way of the success of its Surface tablets. The company has made ads that pit its Surface tablets against the iPad, it has gone to lengths to prove that they’re better than Apple’s popular tablets. Microsoft is now offering a new deal which is available in select Microsoft retail stores in the U.S. and Canada. The company will give you a minimum $200 gift card if you trade-in your iPad.
There’s actually no compulsion on customers to put that gift card towards the purchase of a new Surface tablet, though they’re welcome to do so. Gift cards can be used to purchase other products available on Microsoft Store. Tablets that qualify for trade-in are “gently used” iPad 2, iPad 3 and iPad 4 units. This deal actually kicked off on September 5th, it runs until October 27th. The timing is certainly interesting, considering that Microsoft is going to unveil its new Surface tablets on September 23rd. The new tablets are expected to be released in the market soon after the announcement. Does the company think it finally has a tablet that’ll make people turn in their iPads, so its just giving them a nudge in the right direction through this deal?