BlackBerry has unveiled a new all-touch smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, aimed at professionals, in the form of the BlackBerry Leap.As reported by The Wall Street Journal, BlackBerry has advised the Leap will be one of four devices it launches this year, with the others being a new Porsche-branded BlackBerry, a new device with a physical keyboard, and a smartphone with a curved display and a keyboard.
BlackBerry states the Leap is an “affordable all-touch smartphone in a modern and powerful design that is built for career builders and companies”.
The 5″ HD (1280 x 720) display Leap is powered by a Qualcomm 1.5 GHz processor, features 4G LTE connectivity, comes with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB storage, and sports an 8 MP autofocus rear camera and 2 MP fixed-focus front camera.
Running BlackBerry’s 10.3.1 operating system, BlackBerry states the Leap’s 2800 mAh battery provides for up to 25 hours of heavy use.
Security features include support for encryption, built-in malware protection, and back-up, wipe and restore.
“In today’s mobile world – influenced by trends like BYOD – where personal and corporate data are frequently under attack from hackers, companies and everyday consumers are finding out the hard way that mobile security is paramount,” commented Ron Louks, BlackBerry president, Devices and Emerging Solutions.
“BlackBerry Leap was built specifically for mobile professionals who see their smartphone device as a powerful and durable productivity tool that also safeguards sensitive communications at all times.”
The WSJ has reported the Leap will retail for US$275 and will be available next month in some countries.
