At the end of the day, BlackBerry needed to make this device happen, even if fans are screaming from the rooftops that they want a high-end all-touch device. Despite whether or not you personally decide to pick one up, the BlackBerry Leap is a pretty solid and very capable device that comes at a reasonable price, it just so happens that BlackBerry had to make a few compromises to make it all come together.
I get the Passport (still want one!), I get the Classic. I do not, however, get a generic BlackBerry phones that looks like any other default Android device – but with an operating system nobody (except people like me) is asking for.
The Leap is a corporate wet dream. It has conservative styling, excellent security, low cost, solid construction and had superb battery life.
Provided it is a “Leap of faith” and not a “Leap of fail”
Edited 2015-04-22 15:17 UTC
Maybe leap from the bridge…
That’s really wet.
Apple calls its OS from felines. Blackberry should from cetaceans ?
I wonder why they stuck with the original MSM8960 from 2012 in a new 2015 device. There are newer chips that are cheaper, faster, and more energy efficient, such as the MSM8916. I guess they wanted to minimize development costs by reusing old hardware and software.
As far as I understand, the Leap market is mid-end market that does not need a full power unit in order to browse the web, listen to music, watch some videos, do social stuff and do occasional productivity stuff.
I like Blackberry 10 OS; it is very nice to use and with its Android “personality” I would suggest anyone to try it.
Lack of engineering resources and capital. This is basically their 3 yr old Z10 platform repackaged, trying to squeeze the last drops they can from their dwindling market.
It is more than adequate. Corporate users don’t need powerful phones.
The first thing that comes to my mind are Leap Pads. Android tablets designed for toddlers. Maybe not the imagery they were going for. I’d have suggested they stick with a more business like naming system.
passport for keyboard users who want bigger screens
classic for those that liked the feel of bolds.
slate for those that want a blackberry without a keyboard.
Just use those names and with each new revision, just attach the year (assuming new iterations each year, otherwise just start with 1 and go up).
Edited 2015-04-22 14:42 UTC
I miss the software keyboard I had on the Blackberry Z10. I might consider this one just for that. Still haven’t found anything like it, though for me it is mainly for multilingual text messages, where it can spell-check and grammar correct, multiple languages concurrently.
Yeah, I just switched earlier this year to Android due to needing Dual-Sims. I can’t stand the auto-correct that only looks at one language and changes your words accordingly (typically the language of your user interface).