Microsoft's $200 iPhone trade-in program goes live

Just in time for the holidays, the company will buy your used iPhone 4S or iPhone 5, in the hopes of getting customers to pick up a Windows Phone.

(Credit: Josh Miller)

Microsoft wants to pay for your old iPhone. After reports earlier this week of Microsoft offering at least $200 in credit for customers' used iPhones, the deal is now official.
The deal is only good for newer-model iPhones -- the 4S and 5, in "gently used" condition -- and is an expansion of an existing promotion that lets customers trade in their iPads for a $200 minimum gift card. That deal runs until October 27.
The new promotion will run at Microsoft stores until November 3, an obvious attempt to lure iPhone users to the Windows Phone camp just before the holidays -- although the credit, in the form of a gift card, will be good for anything in the store.