

Trade in your iPad, get a $200 gift card - kapkapkap
http://content.microsoftstore.com/en-us/offers?WT.mc_id=PromoEmail_iPadTradein_9-5-13_GetDetails#offer-tablet-trade

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t0
Their recycler ([http://cexchange.com/](http://cexchange.com/)) will resell
the iPads to cover the $200 loss, which will actually create more competition
for surface. This isn't too brilliant of a strategy.

~~~
eupharis
Presumably this trade-in will be done by people who are thinking, "I'm not
crazy about my iPad. I want to try something new." If Microsoft convinces
these customers to try Surface versus something else (aka Android), it's a
win.

The iPads will be resold to someone thinking, "I want to try a tablet, but
I've never tried an iPad." Which is a different market segment.

Also, a $200 gift card != $200 cash. Some estimates say 20% of gift cards in
the US are not redeemed. See:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_card#Redemption_rate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_card#Redemption_rate)

And even for the cards that are redeemed, Microsoft is making a profit off
every $ that is spent. Plus interest on any gift card balance.

It's not far-fetched to imagine Microsoft making 30%+ profit off this, while
increasing the (dismal) market share of Surface devices.

~~~
sspiff
Or a person thinking "I want a cheap iPad for the kids", but either way, those
people are less likely to buy a Surface, so your argument makes sense.

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benihana
The only tablet I'd trade my iPad in for is a newer iPad.

~~~
reginaldjcooper
I certainly wouldn't trade it in for a Surface, I might trade it in for an
Android.

All the stuff I get is either free-as-in-libre or something my wife is going
to enjoy using. Surface is neither, with the bonus that whoever was in charge
was clueless enough to load it with 40G of software.

~~~
TheAnimus
I feel sometimes as if I'm alone for liking my Surface RT.

8.1 for outlook was the real clincher. Before I hadn't really _liked_ any
tablets I'd used.

But now this thing really does go everywhere. Office is rather integral to my
workflow, every alternative I've tried hasn't cut the mustard. Now when I'm
away, I've got my laptop and my 'office slab'. The touch cover actually works
rather well, I won't mind typing out a good long email on it without wanting
to slam the device into the wall (which my Nexus 7 makes me want to do).

It is also remarkably adept at just working with anything I slam on the USB. I
can use it to backup my SD cards to a USB HDD when travelling (having lost an
SD card last year half way through my holiday I'm paranoid!) or I just plug in
my USB headset for Skype. It can browse the web including pages that have bad
touch events (ie menu comes down on mouse over, not mouse down).

And it does flash.

I've only got an iPad 2 to compare against for speed, and yes whilst I'd like
it faster, it isn't problematic.

I can't really see a lot of the hate on the Surface, as a product it isn't
really there yet. But neither is my iPad or my Nexus.

~~~
reginaldjcooper
That's awesome, I'm glad you like it. Now that you mention it, I recall
thinking of the keyboard cover as a great idea.

I guess many things you list are orthogonal to what I would want it for (and I
am quite pleased that there's no more Flash), so I don't see it as an
improvement to the iPad, nor is it any more open.

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ryankshaw
Some time ago I saw something that Microsoft gets $15 for every android device
sold while google gets 0 (because of patent extortion). It would be pretty
funny to see something now that says "Microsoft makes more in Q4 off iPad re-
sales than from surface sales" note: I'm saying profit, not revenue, because
of how much they have to subsidize surfaces thus making negative profit while
at the same time re-selling the ipads they got for $200 at market rates, thus
making a profit.

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superuser2
The rather amusing side effect of this marketing strategy is that Microsoft is
buying a bunch of iPads. What are they going to do with them?

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halisaurus
Sell them! It's working for Apple.

~~~
superuser2
I have a feeling Apple's advertising team could have some fun with the fact
that Microsoft is selling iPads.

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locksley
Not worth it, you can sell an iPad 2 for $270 on eBay.

proof:
[http://www.thepricegeek.com/results/ipad+2](http://www.thepricegeek.com/results/ipad+2)

~~~
sliverstorm
Sure, but both eBay and PayPal take a cut of the transaction, and the size of
that cut has been growing. What is it now, 15% each?

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akandiah
No, ~15% in total. So, you're getting a better deal from eBay.

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goblin89
Selling requires more effort and is risker due to buyer protection. It seems
that Microsoft found the sweet spot.

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bodyfour
Yeah, I'd much rather take $200 from a store than ~$233 with the bother and
risk of an eBay sale. It's not even close for me.

However even better is just keeping my iPad since it's working fine, thanks.

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jmduke
I bought an iPad 2 last summer for $200. This honestly isn't a bad way to get
rid of it, except my biggest issue with getting a Surface at this point is my
unfamiliarity with the Windows platform -- I'm not saying I wouldn't be able
to use the thing, it's just that there would be a subconscious effort being
made that I don't really feel like dealing with (at least.)

Still, I think having $200 to spend on Microsoft stuff isn't a bad trade.
Office is expensive.

~~~
ScottWhigham
Weird. I just sold an iPad2 on ebay last month for $300. Looking at eBay, that
is the current going price for a used iPad 2 in good condition (as mine was).
So when I saw MSFT offering $200, I thought this was a bad deal for their
consumers.

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tinbad
In comparison: Gazelle offers $175 for an iPad 2 WIFI-only 32GB (Microsoft
doesn't accept iPad 1). You can say that on average they will make more on
those iPads than they are giving away in value for MS products.

In other words, Microsoft is trying to come off cheap.

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vnayak
Or you can sell it on craigslist for $400

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jbrooksuk
I've tried both versions of the Surface and each time my opinion is "I wish
they'd split their OS, like Apple." \- people usually don't need an entire
desktop OS (with touch screen functions or not) on a tablet, they want a
tablet OS - like iOS.

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broken_symlink
The only ipad I have to trade is a first generation one, which they don't
accept. Oh well...

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kirpekar
Does not include the iPad 1.

~~~
fitzhume
It really seems like Apple left early iPad adopters out in the cold. Last
major OS update wouldn't work on iPad 1, nor does it count for any trade-in
ANYWHERE it seems like.

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interpol_p
iPad 1 had a _very_ decent lifespan compared to the tablets released by
competing manufacturers shortly afterwards.

~~~
slantyyz
>> iPad 1 had a very decent lifespan

I beg to differ. I assumed that I would get 3 years out of my iPad 1 but
barely got two.

I made the wrong bet by placing blind trust into Apple when I paid extra for
the 64GB version to ensure that it was 'future proof'. Sadly, by the time I
upgraded to iOS 5.x, the iPad became slow as molasses and the browser would
crash every 5-10 minutes.

Don't even get me started on how iOS 6.x has turned my iPhone 4 into a pig.

I'd be a hell of a lot happier if Apple would let you easily downgrade the
OS'es of their mobile devices.

~~~
eaurouge
Really? I still have my iPad 1. Browsing HN on it as we speak. It's running
iOS 5. The only downside is that the percentage of apps I can install is
diminishing rapidly. Still, I bought it primarily to consume media: audio,
video and books. And I reckon I have at least one more year before I would
feel compelled to upgrade.

~~~
gurkendoktor
If yours doesn't crash all the time because WebKit runs out of memory, then
you're luckier than me (and a few people on the Apple forums). For me, the
usable lifespan ended with the introduction of iOS 5 (my friend's iPad on 4.3
is much more stable).

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DH61AG
And then they will use the iPads themselves because their products suck?

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smallsharptools
Pass

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anuraj
MS, isn't it a trade down - rather than trade in?

