BlackBerry has just taken the wraps off its new smartphone called the Leap. Powered by BlackBerry 10 OS, the new smartphone looks like a potent performer on the hardware front, and carries a typical BB-esque like design. We will take a closer look at BlackBerry’s new smartphone, right after the jump.
The BlackBerry 10 OS has literally been the reason why the company looks to hang on to this glimmer of hope, and with the release of 10.3.1 across most BB 10 devices, it’s a strange world for the new entrant to be in, especially when the device seems to fall somewhere in between the Z10 and the Z30 as far as performance and hardware is concerned.
Featuring a large 5-inch display, the phone retains the favored 720p screen as found in the Z30, where the Z10 sported a fairly similar 768p panel. This gives the budget phone a decent pixel density of 294, which is pretty standard these days.
Under the hood, however, is where you would feel the Leap could have improved upon, as it’s found running the pretty old Snapdragon S4 Plus chip with a 1.5GHz dual-core Krait CPU, coupled with 2GB of RAM. Now you may believe that this is probably the most outdated phone ever, however, if you have used any BB 10 device before, such as a Z10 or Z30, you would know that the phone is sufficiently fast and smooth enough running the BB 10 OS. These phones aren’t exactly multimedia giants, but will serve well for some casual arcade gaming as well.
With 16GB of built-in memory, the phone comes with expandable storage and is capable of taking in a microSD of up to 128GB. The battery on this device however is a non-removable one since the back cover does not come off.
Thanks to its massive 2,800mAh battery, the Leap will last up to 25 hours on heavy usage.
As thick as the Z30, the Leap carries a textured soft cover on the back to provide a good feel in the hands when gripped, something we saw BlackBerry do with the Z10. The phone carries an 8MP rear-facing shooter which can capture 1080p videos at 30fps with 5x digital zoom
You will be able to buy the BlackBerry Leap in April, and will carry a price tag of just $275, and that too off-contract.
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