BlackBerry courting iPhone users with cash

Montreal

CANADIAN smartphone maker BlackBerry is wooing Apple customers with a cash offer for trade-ins of iPhones for its new square-screened, keyboard-equipped Passport.

The promotion was announced late Monday and will be available starting next month until Feb 13, in Canada and the United States.

Customers who trade in their iPhones could receive up to US$400 cash back depending on the model and condition of their trade-in, plus a US$150 gift card. This marks the first time that BlackBerry has gone head-to-head with Apple since the Canadian firm launched a turnaround plan last year aimed at stemming massive losse…