94% of BlackBerry users traded in for a different device -- report

  

Price,$ 150

Most BlackBerry owners who jumped onto a recent promotion from T-Mobile ended up choosing a competing device over a newer-model BlackBerry, says TmoNews. Lance Whitney by Lance Whitney March 5, 2014 6:19 AM PST 51 CommentsFacebook50Twitter183Linked In8More BlackBerry's Z10. BlackBerry's Z10 (Credit: Josh Miller/CNET) T-Mobile's $200 trade-in deal reportedly snagged a lot of BlackBerry owners. But 94 percent of them opted to switch to a rival device, according to the folks at TmoNews. Announced on February 19 and ending today, the T-Mobile promotion promised $200 to any BlackBerry owner who traded in their device for a new phone. As part of the deal, customers could opt for any phone -- another BlackBerry or a different device, such as an iPhone or Android phone. To sweeten the deal in BlackBerry's favor, T-Mobile slashed $50 off the price of a new BlackBerry Q10 or Z10 for people trading in their existing BlackBerry phones. But most apparently still went for a rival device. Related stories Sprint chairman to make plea for T-Mobile merger, despite concerns BlackBerry CEO: We're readying another flagship to win over new customers Isis CEO: Foundation is here for mobile payments An alleged image of an internal T-Mobile memo apparently leaked to TmoNews, an independent blog focused on T-Mobile news and phone reviews, showed that 94 percent of all the people who traded in a BlackBerry device chose a non-BlackBerry device in return. The memo didn't reveal just how many people the promotion attracted, but sources told TmoNews that the campaign was "very successful." T-Mobile ticked off BlackBerry and BlackBerry loyalists with a promotion last month that encouraged BlackBerry users to switch to an iPhone. The carrier launched the $200 trade-in deal as a response to the criticism amid a war of words between T-Mobile CEO John Legere and BlackBerry CEO John Chen.