Tech company courts BlackBerry, Android-switchers with gift cards

The battle for global smartphone supremacy just got fiercer as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is not just content with being the world’s largest company, the most profitable one, and one that sells the largest number of smartphones, it now wants to hijack the competition – literally.

According to 9to5Mac, in a move that is sure to ruffle a few Android feathers, Apple will give Android (and BlackBerry) owners a gift card when they swap devices.Apple first launched its in-store iPhone Reuse program in 2013, wherein users could trade-in their older versions of the iPhone for a discount on the brand new iteration.Apple’s online iPhone trade-in programme in fact is even older, running as it has been since 2011.But while the program has so far been limited to iPhone trade-in for, well, a newer iPhone, Apple will soon be opening up its stores for disenchanted owners of Samsung Galaxy, HTC One, LG G series and other Android smartphones, as well as BlackBerry owners to bring in their busted devices in return for a gift card with which to buy a spanking new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.Similar to the Apple trade-in program already in place at the Cupertino-based tech giant’s retail stores, your current Android and BlackBerry phones’ trade-in value will be determined by Apple Store staff.

They will decide, based on the age, working condition, and number of scratches on your phone’s body and screen, what the value of the Apple gift card will be.As you read this, thousands of Apple Store staffers are getting trained in not just evaluating rivals’ smartphones, but also in transferring your address book and contact lists from your Android/BlackBerry devices to your new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, you will, however, have to transfer the rest of the data on your own.This is being seen as Apple’s way of luring Android fanboys into the iOS ecosystem, with iPhone 6 as the bait.

“Interest in Apple products is at an all-time high, with over half-a-billion customer visits to our physical and online stores during the quarter,” Tim Cook said while announcing the company’s best ever quarterly profits during the latest financial results conference call.The new trade-in program is a step toward ensuring more people visit the Apple retail store rather than go to competing stores.

“We have a robust product and services pipeline that we are very excited about, and we look forward to sharing more about them with you throughout the year,” Cook is supposed to have said during the results call, one of the services he alluded to was perhaps this trade-in program.“Apple’s mission is to make the greatest products on earth and enrich the lives of others. Through the success of iOS we have provided hundreds and millions of people with powerful personal technology that is simple and fun to use,” Cook said then.

Well, going by the reports about the new open trade-in offer, Apple wants to enrich a few Android and BlackBerry lives this time round.“Given there are fair amount of Android units out there, there is also an enormous amount of Android customers that could switch,” Cook said.“The current iPhone line-up experienced the highest Android-switch rate in any of the last three launches in the three previous years,” he boasted. “We had the highest number of customers new to iPhone last quarter than in any prior launch,” Cook added.“And so we see that we’re appealing to new customers, both new to smartphone and new to iPhone and people switching. We’re very bullish on the product and getting great feedback about the quality of the products we’re shipping. And so we’re very, very bullish.”So, if you have your eyes set on a new iPhone, don’t scratch that Galaxy S5 you have, and make sure you look after it until Apple officially launches the trade-in here. Oh, and don’t expect Apple to ‘value’ it as much as you think it is worth. It’s not good at valuing rivals.