Microsoft offering up to $250 for Apple Watch users to trade in for a Band 2

AppleInsider

Microsoft is taking direct aim at rival Apple in a new promotion, which offers Apple Watch owners up to $250 in credit toward the purchase of a new Microsoft Band 2.

The new promotion actually covers a wide range of wearable devices, including options from Fitbit, Garmin, Nike, and Sony. Original Microsoft Band owners can also earn up to $35 for trading in their first-generation device, but Microsoft is offering the most credit for the Apple Watch.

Values on the trade-ins strangely do not correspond directly with the price of the unit. For example, the maximum $250 trade-in applies to the 38-millimeter stainless steel Apple Watch with milanese loop band, while owners of the larger, more expensive 42-millimeter size will receive only $100 on their trade toward a Band 2.

The Band 2 was unveiled by Microsoft in October, improving upon the first-generation model by switching to a curved OLED display, and adding a barometer for elevation tracking. Like the first-generation model, it features sensors for heart rate, UV levels, and dedicated GPS.

The Band 2 supports Microsoft's Windows Phone products, but is also compatible with the iPhone via the Microsoft Health app. There is also a Health app made by Microsoft for Mac OS X. It's priced at $249.

Though sales of the Band nor the Apple Watch have been disclosed by their respective companies, all signs indicate that the Apple Watch has been the dominant player in the wearables space since it launched last April. One estimate issued this week projected that the Apple Watch accounted for more than half of all smartwatch shipments across 2015, despite launching four months into the year and seeing limited availability initially.

Apple also trounces the competition on the number of third-party apps available -- there are already around 10,000 available on Apple Watch, compared to 4,000 for the next largest platform, Android Wear.

kent909

I love it when this happens.

lonestar88

Wow. Desperation out of the gate.

Wonder if the Zune or Kin might have made it if MS had offered trade ins back then. ;-)

edited January 2016

anantksundaram

Pathetic. Both for doing this, and for being stupid enough to think that an AppleWatch user would give up their $650 38"SS+ML for $250.

adhir

Sad.

genovelle

Ha ha ha ha!!!!

foggyhill

Is this a joke?

mac_128

I don't fully understand the price distinction ... why would the larger 42mm version demand less than the smaller and less expensive 38mm version of the same watch?

Does this tell us anything about Apple sales of watches?

studiomusic

mac_128 said:

I don't fully understand the price distinction ... why would the larger 42mm version demand less than the smaller and less expensive 38mm version of the same watch?

Does this tell us anything about Apple sales of watches?

Not very likely. Microsoft doesn't know Apples sales numbers...

larrya

The MS band doesn't play music and the Apple Watch doesn't have GPS.  They both suffer the same battery life and lack of water resistance.  I guess it's all just a matter of which to adorn the inside of your junk drawer with. 

metrix

Can someone explain to me why Microsoft continues to employ 4 or 5 people in their stores when no one visits and they are certainly not buying anything there. I understand giving it a try but if you are going to throw this much money down the drain do it for a good cause.

edited January 2016

boltsfan17

Is this a joke? 

EDIT: Looks like someone beat me to it. 

edited January 2016

markbyrn

Buffoonery 

alandail

Microsoft: Hey, let's run a promotion nobody will use.

mnbob1

metrix said:

Can someone explain to me why Microsoft continues to employ 4 or 5 people in their stores when no one visits and they are certainly not buying anything there. I understand giving it a try but if you are going to throw this much money down the drain do it for a good cause.

I live in Minnesota and the nearest Apple Store to me is in the Mall of America. Microsoft opened their store across the hallway from Apple's. I hate going to the mall but love the Apple Store. The service is great and the employees are friendly. The techs at the Genius Bar always solve my problems. I went into the Microsoft store a couple of times just to check it out. I wasn't greeted at the door. The four employees were hanging out around the Xbox display and didn't even notice me. There were two other customers in the store wandering around that appeared to have been ignored as well. We were all dressed in suits so Xbox was not on my list and it looked like the other two weren't either. The displays were messy and the Windows phone had empty spaces. It wasn't until I was walking out that an employee approached me. The stores have to be a loss for MS. I don't see any more opening in the Twin Cities. They seem to be happy with the mini stores inside Best Buy.

cornchip

I have three questions. 

Have any of these buyback programs worked for them?

Would they keep doing these buyback programs if they didn't?

If not, why?

Gah the forum update REALLY jacked up the app.

ericthehalfbee

anantksundaram said:

Pathetic. Both for doing this, and for being stupid enough to think that an AppleWatch user would give up their $650 38"SS+ML for $250.

Nilay Patel probably would.

Or maybe he can get $250 for his studded wristband instead.

sflocal

Honestly... companies like Microsoft (and Samsung) learn absolutely nothing from their past mistakes.  How many times in the past have their attempts to essentially bribe Apple customers failed miserably?  Too many for me to count.  Yet, some knucklehead in their shop brings up the same, tired tactic and somehow think this time it will be different?

Man... the short-terms memory issues people in marketing have nowadays.  

radarthekat

Tell you what you should do if you have any thoughts the MS Band and the rest of the non-Apple smartwatches are anything but the typical thrown together consumer electronics junk we've seen for decades.  Strap on your Apple Watch and head out to your nearest Best Buy where there's an isle full of this stuff.  Spend a few minutes in that isle, not shopping the features but instead just hefting each device and strapping it on your wrist next to your Apple Watch. See how it fits (for example, the MS Band leaves big gaps on a small wrist as it doesn't really wrap around in the front).  See how it feels, look at the build quality.  Touch it to get your fingerprints on it and see how the case and display look that way.  Check out how enormous the Motorola offerings are; not just their face, but their hockey puck thickness.  Look at the bands, how they're constructed, how they clasp, the materials.  The plasticky feel of the Samsung offerings.  This stuff is cheap junk, destined for your junk drawer, a curiosity your kids or grandkids will come across in a box in your attic, long after you forgot you even bought the thing.  Take my challenge, do a direct comparison.  

foggyhill

cornchip said:

I have three questions. 

Have any of these buyback programs worked for them?

Would they keep doing these buyback programs if they didn't?

If not, why?

Gah the forum update REALLY jacked up the app.

Why? Failure of imagination? No other option?

  When all you have is a staple gun left, stapling things to the wall seems like a better idea than it really is... ;-)....

anantksundaram

larrya said:

They both ... lack of water resistance.  I guess it's all just a matter of which to adorn the inside of your junk drawer with. 

You're clueless about the AppleWatch, aren't you?

Ignorance is bliss. Or whatever.