BlackBerry Passport's arrival late in 2014 came with one of the most aggressive incentives by a handset maker: $550 to new users willing to defect from Apple iPhone 6 to BlackBerry, with the user incentive deadline arriving Feb. 13.
The marketing play comes as BlackBerry strives to regain its footing as a smartphone player in the enterprise and consumer segments and aims to push back against the iPhone's enterprise infiltration, which is happening mainly with the bring-your-own-device trend.
So with just one month left for the trade-in offer, Tech Times examines some reasons iPhone 6 users may want to switch off for the BlackBerry Passport and make a little cash in the process.
1. A Physical Keyboard
One of the big feature differences between these two smartphones is the keyboard. Apple has perfected the iPhone touch approach. But BlackBerry long ago perfected the physical keyboard. Ask any 'CrackBerry' fanatic and they'll tell you there's no beating BlackBerry's keyboard accuracy, even though it can wreak havoc on the thumbs.
2. Internal Specs
The BlackBerry Passport offers 3 GB of RAM compared with the iPhone's 1 GB, a 2.2-GHz processor compared with the iPhone's 1.4 GHz, and things like wireless charging, so when it comes to internal specs the Passport shines a bit brighter.
3. Expandable Storage
Expandable storage is a feature in the Passport that can't compare with a 128-GB iPhone. But to be fair, that's because Apple has never included a storage card slot in any of its smartphones. The iPhone 6 comes with 16-GB, 64-GB or 128-GB storage options.
The microSD card slot on the Passport is a nice element for smartphone users who value expandable storage or who don't want to fork out the cash for an iPhone with 128 GB of storage. In this case, BlackBerry does the smart thing in continuing its card storage as the Passport maxes out at 32 GB of storage, which is not good for those who have a lot of digital files and lots of apps.
4. Photography
While Apple smartphones are known for boasting sophisticated cameras, BlackBerry is playing a bit of catch-up and it takes a big step forward with Passport. The13-MP camera with optical image stabilization and an LED flash is the most sophisticated BlackBerry camera yet.
5. Software
There is no denying that the best apps and the most apps fall in favor of the iPhone 6 and that BlackBerry is behind -- well, way behind -- what Apple's done with mobile software. But it's clearly focused on making up for the weakness and recently added support for the App Store, which means BlackBerry Passport users now have easy access to the growing number of Android apps finding a home on Apple's online app storefront.
