Microsoft has sent out an offer up to $650 in store credit to customers who would trade in their MacBook Air laptops for the company's new Surface Pro 3 tablet computers.
The promotion runs from June 20 to July 31, or while supplies last, in selected Microsoft stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Microsoft store personnel will determine the trade-in value of MacBook Air laptops brought in for store credit, with the credit only being able to be applied towards acquiring a Surface Pro 3 "to get the maximum trade-in amount."
"To be eligible for trade-in, device must power on to be considered working. Water-damaged devices and devices with cracked screens are not considered working devices for purposes of this offer. Trade-in value may vary," stated in Microsoft Store's website.
All accepted trade-ins are deemed final, and are limited to only one trade-in Macbook Air per purchase of a Surface Pro 3.
The maximum value of $650 will most probably be only awarded to almost brand new MacBook Airs which include the optional faster processors and storage space of 512GB.
The Surface Pro 3 comes pre-installed with Windows 8.1 Pro and includes the Surface Pen. The models for the device have price tags that begin at $999. Including the device's keyboard, which turns the tablet into a laptop, the price tags begin at $1,129. The 12-inch device weighs just 1.76 pounds within a sleek magnesium frame.
The Surface Pro 3 came with the promise to eliminate the division between laptops and tablets when Microsoft revealed the product on May 20.
"It's the tablet that can replace your laptop. It is the most powerful, thinnest, and lightest Surface Pro yet. It is a full PC and a brilliant tablet," writes Panos Panay, Microsoft Surface corporate vice president.
Panay has pushed the idea that the Surface Pro 3, as a single device, can replace both Apple's MacBook and iPad with its tablet-to-laptop form. He has aggressively compared the device with Apple's products, and even directly compared the Surface Pro 3's weight with that of a 13-inch MacBook Air at the device's launch event by placing both on different ends of a scale. The scale tipped in favor of the lighter Surface Pro 3.
The Core i5 version of the Surface Pro 3 was released for sale in stores on June 20, the first day of the trade-in promotion. Customers will not be able to combine the offer with any other Microsoft Store offer.
