A few days ago, Blackberry Limited launched its mid-tier Blackberry Leap into the Nigerian smartphone market, after it was first shown off at the March 2015 GSMA Mobile World Congress in Spain.
TechCabal has received a review unit of the all-touch phone, and we are going to put it through its paces for the next couple days.
With reassuring hardware, a battery that promises to keep going for a full day + 1 hour extra, and the all new BB10 OS build, this could be a good deal — if you are still into BlackBerries.
First, the specs
The Blackberry Leap unabashedly looked to the older and much lower-priced Z3 for design lessons. You might not be able to tell them apart unless you look real close. The differences are under the hood. Unlike its senior sibling, the Leap has more robust internals.
- A dual-core 1.5GHz Krait processor
- A non-removable 2800mAh battery that promises a 25-hour uptime
- The latest BB10 10.3.1 operation system
- 16GB internal memory and 2GB RAM
- Micro SD expandable to 128GB
- 8MP primary camera and 2MP front snapper
- 4G LTE support
- An Adreno 305 GPU
- A 5-inch screen with a 720×1280 pixel resolution making for a 295 pixel density
The full list of specs is here.
In the box:
The box has a minimalist design with a red color accent on one edge of it.
Out comes the phone
Then everything else; the standard stuff – the USB cable, a two-pin power adapter, earpiece, the user manual and the warranty details.
The front of the Blackberry Leap is a sheet of glass with the 5-inch display walled by too much bezel.
At the top bezel is the front-facing 2MP camera, the receiver, the LED notification, and the proximity sensor. The bottom bezel has the Blackberry logo.
To the right are the two volume rockers with the Blackberry Assistant tucked in the middle. The Blackberry Assistant. Think of it as the Siri for Blackberry.
On the left, you have the retractable slab hiding the ports where the SIM card and the micro SD card go.
At the bottom edge is the microphone notch and the micro USB port.
The top edge of the phone is the power/phone lock button, the 3.5mm audio jack and a second microphone. Yes, The Blackberry Leap has two microphones. Perhaps we’ll find out why.
The back of the Blackberry Leap is layered with a rubbery matte material that makes for a good grip. There you’ll find the 8MP primary camera at the top, the Blackberry logo and the speaker mesh down below.
While there is a lot to be said about the new device, what immediately leaps at you is that this Leap is all about the business. It is a chunky 9.5mm-thick rectangular slab of a phone, with severe features and sharp angles.
So, what is it like to use a phone designed for just business? We’ll find that out in the hands-on review.
