Apple Should Consider Opening Its Trade-In Program To Other Smartphones

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Should Apple Extend Its Trade-In Program To Other Phones? (All Things Digital)
A new study from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners shows that almost half of iPhone users keep their old iPhones after upgrading to the latest model. Apple kicked off its new iPhone trade-in program last month in order to boost sales for the recent launch of the new iPhone 5S and 5C. Based on this data, it seems that iPhone users are more likely to keep or hand down their old iPhone. Perhaps Apple should consider opening the program to consumers looking to sell non-iPhone smartphones. One thing is for sure, this strategy would bring non-Apple customers into Apple stores. Read >

How BlackBerry Found A Suitor (Bloomberg Businessweek)
News broke early Monday afternoon that BlackBerry accepted a bid to be taken private by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. Businessweek surveys the current state of BlackBerry, considers just how valuable the Canadian handset maker actually is, and gets into the inner-workings of the deal with Fairfax Financial. Read >

Twitter Grabs Important Network Partnership For Its Amplify Ad Program (TechCrunch)
CBS announced a partnership with Twitter to run ads within the social network's new Amplify program. Amplify will allow broadcasters to embed video clips in real time into users' Twitter feeds. The idea is to keep users engaged with branded content as they shift their eyes from commercial-laden TV monitors to Twitter feeds on their second-screen of choice. Many of these video clips are suited to mobile viewing. The CBS partnership should prove extremely valuable as CBS has agreed to involve 42 of the network's shows and 20 of its brands. Read >

Microsoft Unveils Surface Pro 2 (Engadget)
Despite a hefty write-down on the unsuccessful RT line of Surface tablets from last quarter, Microsoft unveiled an updated version to its Pro line of tablets. The Surface Pro 2 is reported by Microsoft to be 20-times faster than the original Pro model and features 75% longer battery life. Read >

PayPal Looks To Buy E-Commerce Transaction Platform Braintree (GigaOm)
Braintree is a payments platform that has found success targeting small e-commerce startups like AirBnB, Uber, and Fab.com. Braintree processed $10 billion in transactions globally, which is up from $4 billion the year before. PayPal remains the top platform, but has taken special notice of Braintree's growing success. Read >

Facebook Simplifies Mobile Commerce Transactions For Users (TechCrunch)
Facebook is partnering with top mobile commerce platforms like PayPal and Braintree to incorporate technology that will autofill a user's billing and shipping info within a mobile commerce app. It's a painless way to streamline a transaction process that could be laborious on a mobile device. Facebook will begin the rollout of "Autofill With Facebook" on two e-commerce apps, JackThreads and Mosaic. Read >