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While Walmart and Apple are launching their own smartphone trade-in programs, Microsoft has a different take.

Microsoft announced on Thursday evening that it will take your iPad off your hands and give you a $200 credit. The catch? The credit is usable only at the Microsoft Store and the company is hoping you'll want to take http://www.reiclub.com/ that fresh cash and spend it on its Surface RT or Pro tablet.

Get $200 in credit to a Microsoft Store if you trade-in your iPadBut new Surface tablets and iPads are on the way

The Surface Pro, the Windows 8 tablet that is aimed at the professional market, costs $799. The Surface RT, which runs a stripped down version of Windows 8 that doesn't run legacy Windows programs, starts at $349.

But there are two things to consider before you head to the closest Microsoft Store. The first is that the second generation of the Surface is coming very soon. Microsoft is set to hold an event in New York City on Sept. 23 to announce its newest tablet. The second is that the iPad is still considered to be a better tablet by reviewers.

Microsoft Surface RT Video Review

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While the Surface provides access to Microsoft's Office software and has some better multitasking features -- as you might have seen in Microsoft's TV commercials -- the iPad boasts access to more tablet apps and a longer battery life, among other things.

"There have been many reasons for the iPad's greater popularity," Ross Rubin, a principal analyst at Rectile https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239520/ishares-us-real-estate-etf