BlackBerry aims at young professionals with the low-cost Leap
We're here at BlackBerry's cozy MWC press event waiting anxiously for CEO John Chen (or anyone, for that matter) to pull back the curtain on the oft-rumored BlackBerry Leap. So far, all we've gotten is a recap of progress to date and some security-minded endeavors, but surprise, surprise -- the $275 Leap just popped up on BlackBerry's global devices site for all to see.
Long story short: Anyone hoping for a shiny, high-powered flagship is going to be a little disappointed. It's got way more in common with the original BlackBerry Z10 than fancier fare like the Passport. Alas, the Leap runs with the very same 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor and 2GB of RAM that the Z10 did, and pairs those brains with a 5-inch 720p screen like the one that graced the Z30 back in the day. Throw in an 8-megapixel rear camera and a non-removable 2,800mAh battery and you've got a phone that's more or less a mash-up of devices we've seen in years past. On the plus side, the Leap is considerably more attractive than any of the company's all-touch efforts in the past, though it's textured chassis is actually just a hair thicker than the Z10. At the very least, it'll ship with BlackBerry OS 10.3.5 so the startup types the company's targeting will have a solid virtual Assistant to help them talk big and raise that sweet, sweet venture funding.
If we're being honest, the Leap wasn't terribly thrilling off the bat, but it was almost immediately overshadowed by the briefest of appearances made by another BlackBerry with a dual-curved display and a slide-out keyboard. Consider our collective interest piqued, Waterloo.
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