BARCELONA—BlackBerry introduced a new low-cost smartphone and teased three more, including a BlackBerry Torch-like slider, here at Mobile World Congress this morning.
This is one of those situations where the teased gadgets are much more interesting than the revealed one. The BlackBerry Leap, which I got a little bit of hands-on time with, is a successor to BlackBerry's Z3. It's a big touch-screen slab that is going to cost only $275 unlocked. It has a 5-inch, 720p screen with a Qualcomm MSM8960 processor from 2012 and an 8-megapixel camera. It's coming first to Europe, although several BlackBerry execs hinted that it will also be available in the U.S.
In my quick hands-on with the Leap (Vine video below), it didn't feel quite as cheap as the Z3. It has rounded edges and a textured back. But there are a bunch of noticeably less-than-premium design touches, like the 80s-style lettering on the back. Performance was also noticeably a bit laggy, although as always, you can't make assumptions from pre-production devices.
The selling point for the Leap will be as a replacement for existing BlackBerrys within larger businesses, or for small businesspeople who want BlackBerry-level security and privacy, said Ron Louks, BlackBerry's president of devices.
BlackBerrys are end-to-end encrypted and protected against malware and hacking, Louks said. Security has definitely been a theme at MWC this year, with BlackPhone releasing a new phone and tablet and attracting clones from Israel, Brazil, and China.
But there's a missing piece there, if you're paying attention: unlike privacy-focused manufacturers like BlackPhone, BlackBerry doesn't currently offer a secure voice and messaging solution for consumers or very small businesses who can't implement BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
"At our next announcement we'll be discussing more of what we're doing on the privacy side for the consumer," Louks said. "You'll see some very unique features and functionalities no one else has."
What About That Slider?
Louks said BlackBerry would release three more phones this year, other than the Leap: "another keyboard-based product" which may be a successor to the existing Classic, another Porsche Design high-end model, and a "dual curved display, all touch, with a keyboard," which could take the high-end position currently held by the BlackBerry Passport.
The dual curved display is curved on both sides, and Louks hinted that there would be new UI features which would involve either looking at or swiping on the curved edges.
"You'll have to see when we do the announcement," Louks said.
That phone will come out sometime later this year, BlackBerry CEO John Chen said.
BlackBerry's hardware market share in the U.S. is now down to 2-3 percent, according to various analysts, but Louks said the company is "ahead" in its three-year plan to make its device business profitable. And when he says "devices," he agreed that will be more than just phones, although he wouldn't confirm a new BlackBerry tablet.
"What we see today as 'devices' might not be 'devices' tomorrow," he said. "The idea is also to invest in R&D on other, different types of products."