The official launch of the Verizon iPhone 4 is looming closer and closer, and the largest US carrier has decided to promote its trade-in program "more actively", while, at the same time, it's set to offer a new one called "Special Upgrade Offer".

As we told you back in October, this trade-in program allows you to sell your existing smartphone(s) to Verizon, gather some cash in the form of a Verizon gift card and buy a new Big Red handset.

You can also trade handsets from other carriers, and, interestingly, for theAT&T Apple iPhone 4 16GB, you will receive a $212.00 credit, while for the HTC Surround you'll get only $92 - it's up to you to decide whether it's worth it or not.

The largest US carrier is also thinking about these customers who decided to purchase a Verizon handset in the last few months, but now want to swap it for the CDMA iPhone 4. This program is called "Special Upgrade Offer", but be warned that using it is not a straightforward process at all, and has one important prerequisite - you are eligible if you have purchased and activated a Big Red phone between November 26, 2010 and January 10, 2011.

If you have done that and want to use the program, the first step is to place an order for the Verizon iPhone 4 until the end of February, and pay the full retail price. After that, you must go to verizonwireless.com/promoexchange and submit your debit card request. Take into account this must happen within 30 days of activating your iPhone.

Once you have finished with that, Verizon will send a prepaid mailer to collect your phone and you'll receive $200 for a smartphone or $75 for a feature/certified pre-owned phone. Not that you'll get this money instantly - Verizon will send you a Visa debit card within 4 to 6 weeks.

And now the important question - are you getting the Verizon iPhone - either through one of these programs, or simply by going to one of the carrier's stores?

source: Verizon via Engadget

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