Apple is reportedly launching a trade-in program in its stores, taking old iPhones off the hands of customers who want to upgrade to the iPhone 5. Right now iPhone users can trade in their existing phones online or with their carriers, but Apple is apparently eager to capture more of those used iPhones so that it can resell them in emerging markets.
According to a Bloomberg report, Brightstar will handle the trade-in program for Apple. Brightstar is one of the world’s largest handset distributors and supply chain managers. It employs more than 4,000 people, and with revenue of almost $6 billion it was #58 last year on the Forbes list of America’s top private companies.
News of a trade-in program comes on the heels of a report that the International Trade Commission has banned the import of AT&T’s versions of the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2. If the ban goes into effect, Apple will not be able to sell the devices in the United States anymore, since they are made in China. The ban follows a court finding that these devices infringe on a Samsung patent. Apple is appealing, and President Obama also has the power to invalidate the order.
The White House appears to be somewhat fed up with mobile device patent cases that result in import bans. This week President Obama asked Congress to curtail the International Trade Commission’s ability to impose import bans.
Apple is getting ready for its Worldwide Developers Conference next week in San Francisco. Although WWDC is for application developers, it is still possible that Apple will use the forum to make an official announcement about a trade-in program in its stores. Anything that encourages customers to upgrade to the iPhone 5 is good news for developers, since the iPhone 5 ships with the most up-to-date version of Apple’s iOS operating system.
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