BlackBerry Leap Smartphone Review – The Next Generation All Touch BlackBerry

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After the launch of the Classic and Passport BlackBerry all touchscreen fans have been left wanting a worthy successor for the Z30 (especially those with Z10s). The BlackBerry Leap picks up where the BlackBerry Z3 left off but takes it up to the mid to high end market build. For example, the BlackBerry Leap is sporting a beautiful 5” screen covered by Gorilla Glass (version 3). The phone also takes a few design queues from the Porsche design house as you can tell from the back of the phone. I personally am loving the rubberized yet not too grippy back that molds perfectly into your hand. The most impressive part is that it is all available for only $275.

With that said onwards to the pictures and design details!

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Unboxing the device

The model I received is what they are calling the GSM unlocked version for North America. This is the version that ShopBlackBerry will be selling for the US and Canadian carriers. This version is unbranded but the carrier ones will have some branding. I am still surprised they managed to keep this at only $275.My device came with the phone, 1300mAh charger and charging cable, and some cheap headphones.

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Build Quality

The BlackBerry Leap is a solid metal frame covered in a rubberized plastic/resin. It feels great in your hand and really did not have any weak spots or give. This is the type of phone you feel can handle some rough and tumble. They even put on some nice easy to click buttons along with a solid cover for the SIM and MicroSD that is easy to access.

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Ports and features

The back of the leap is clearly reminicent of the original Porsche BlackBerry designs. I am really digging it and the coloring is spot on.

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Top and bottom of the device show some flush clean construction with two microphones (one for voice and one for noise cancellation).

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Sides include some standard volume buttons and a nice rubberized flap covering the SD card and Micro SIM. (not Nano SIM)

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Last but not least… Battery life!

One of the nicest things I saw in the Leap is that it takes after the Z30 in terms of battery life. It is packing enough power for 25 hours of heavy use. That is powered by a 2800mAh battery that will carry you through the whole day. I just wish they also included some rapid charging tech.

Conclusion

Overall BlackBerry has a very solid phone on their hands that really does justice to its pedigree coming from the Z30 and even the Z10. It brings the latest OS 10.3.1 features including the built in dual app store from Amazon and BlackBerry along with Blend and BlackBerry Assistant. For those of you who felt left out as BlackBerry refocused on the QWERTY devices with OS 10.3.1, this is the all touch BlackBerry you have been waiting for.

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