[sibeans]

With the recent, unofficial announcement of the BlackBerry Leap I did gawk at the proposed spec sheet which pretty much equates to a z3 body with z30 guts and a z10 core. I do like the z3 body as it reminisces the style of the Passport (or inspired it either way) but did disagree with the z10 CPU; why not use the latest low-end Snapdragon CPU or even a z30 CPU which on paper is marginally better. Then I thought about the possible long-term strategy of BlackBerry which may be a little hard to grasp given the past developments with the previous teams at the helm and as they were reported by the media.

The JC era reported that a lot has been taken care of with triaging the financial health as well as mitigating the hardware risk and while externally that may not make a splash in the news, internally that paves the way for short-term and long-term profitability. It seems a part of the market share strategy BlackBerry is aiming for is in the low/mid range market with budget-conscious businesses and prosumers. I like this approach as it sort of rides the coattails of the successes of Android and Windows Phone (think Moto G and Lumia 521) but it also positions BlackBerry to compete in a market that is still rapidly growing and from what I've read there's a still lot of profit to be had. I cannot speak to the worldwide consumer needs and wants as they are all very different but as an end-consumer I can speak to the device specifications and giving them a second look shows promise. I just hope BlackBerry gets the price point down where it can completely undercut the competition or at least competitively price this device accordingly. And giving it a third look, the Leap looks to undercut the rest with its belt-tightening specs which would also slim down production costs...can't wait to see what else BlackBerry has in store for Mobile World Congress!

What do you think???


For point of reference here are the specs of the competing devices:

- BlackBerry Leap
○ 5" 1280x720 Screen
○ 1.5 GHz MSM 8960 dual-core Snapdragon CPU
○ 2 GB RAM
○ 16 GB Internal Storage
○ microSD support to to 128 GB
○ 8 MP Rear Camera
○ 2MP Front Camera
○ 2,800 mAh battery
○ Dimensions: 5.51 x 2.87 x 0.36 inches (taken from z3 spec page)
○ Weight: 5.78 oz (taken from z3 spec page)
○ LTE
○ Price ???

- Motorola Moto E
○ 4.4" 540x960 qHD Screen
○ 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 CPU
○ 1 GB RAM
○ 8 GB Internal Storage
○ microSD support up to 32 GB
○ 5 MP Rear Camera
○ VGA Front Camera
○ 2,390 mAh battery
○ Dimensions: 5.11 x 2.63 x 0.20-0.48 inches
○ Weight: 5.11 oz
○ Water Resistant
○ no LTE
○ Price: $150

- Motorola Moto G (2014)
○ 5" 1280x720 IPS Screen
○ 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 CPU
○ 1 GB RAM
○ 8 GB or 16GB Internal Storage
○ microSD support up to 32 GB
○ 5 MP Rear Camera
○ 2MP Front Camera
○ 2,070 mAh battery
○ Dimensions: 5.57 x 2.78 x 0.24-0.43 inches
○ Weight: 5.26 oz
○ Water Resistant
○ no LTE
○ Price: $180

- Sony Xperia M2
○ 4.8" 540x960 qHD Screen
○ 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 CPU
○ 1 GB RAM
○ 8 GB Internal Storage
○ microSD support up to 32 GB
○ 8 MP Rear Camera
○ VGA Front Camera
○ 2,300 mAh battery
○ Dimensions: 5.5 x 2.8 x 0.34 inches
○ Weight: 5.2 oz
○ no LTE
○ Price $290

- Microsoft Lumia 532
○ 4" 800x480 WVGA Screen
○ 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 CPU
○ 1 GB RAM
○ 8 GB Internal Storage
○ microSD support up to 128 GB
○ 5 MP Rear Camera
○ VGA Front Camera
○ 1,560 mAh battery
○ Dimensions: 4.68 x 2.58 x 0.46 inches
○ Weight: 4.8 oz
○ no LTE
○ Price: $101

- Microsoft Lumia 435
○ 4" WVGA Screen
○ 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon 200 CPU
○ 1 GB RAM
○ 8 GB Internal Storage
○ microSD support up to 128 GB
○ 2 MP Rear Camera
○ VGA Front Camera
○ 1,560 mAh battery
○ Dimensions: 4.65 x 2.55 x 0.46 inches
○ Weight: 4.73 oz
○ no LTE
○ Price: $90

[donnation]

Great points, and ultimately it depends on how they price it. We all thought that was their strategy with the Q5 but they immediately priced themselves out of the game when they launched that phone.

[thurask]

Don't cite this as fact, but I've heard that the Leap will hit the $200 price point. Take it with some salt, but still.

Posted via CB10

[anon(1852343)]

I would buy one @ $120 for giggles

Blackberry Passport running 10.3.1.2267

[Prem WatsApp]

Let's see whether that works out...

Specs fanatics and those that want the S5/G3/iP6/S-Z3 "terminator", won't be satisfied. This device is NOT for them, and we shouldn't listen or take any of those "complaints" serious in any way.

This device might help BBRY get back to profitability, and it could sell well, especially as a fleet phone for corporate use. :-)

�   "Oh Classic, you are the fairest here so true. But Passport is a thousand times more powerful than you..." (no offense, Classic is a great device, when it's charged)   �

[FrankIAm]

Thought you guys said previous devices would sell well in the corporate world? I'm thinking the same is gonna happen to this one.

[birdman_38]

Great points OP and comparisons

[chopachain]

Nice OP.

BTW you did more research than Charlie Arthur.

[Prem WatsApp]

Thought you guys said previous devices would sell well in the corporate world? I'm thinking the same is gonna happen to this one.

The others weren't really cheap. This one will be, and it will do movies and videos fine, too... :-)

�   "Oh Classic, you are the fairest here so true. But Passport is a thousand times more powerful than you..." (no offense, Classic is a great device, when it's charged)   �

[FrankIAm]

The others weren't really cheap. This one will be, and it will do movies and videos fine, too... :-)

�   "Oh Classic, you are the fairest here so true. But Passport is a thousand times more powerful than you..." (no offense, Classic is a great device, when it's charged)   �

I'll withdraw all of my hatred towards it if they actually sell it for less than 200. I'm not confident it's happening, though, previous entry devices haven't been able to accomplish this.

[lovedaazn]

You make good points for sure. But in my mind the north American market is already developed with mostly iphones and high end androids. Therefore, I think that if BlackBerry wants a chance at taking market share in north America they're going to have to come up with something better than a low spec phone that low priced. Though it may worked in Asia, India and Africa, I don't see it working in north America.

Posted via CB10

[yohannrjm]

I doubt they'll hit the $200 mark, but I sure hope they do. I'd buy one at that price point.

[kbz1960]

I'd say they are either saving me money as it is not an upgrade to what I have or they will lose another customer they don't care about when my upgrade time comes.

[pfe1223]

I worry about BB trying to compete on price. Low margins mean you need to sell a very high quantity. I don't see BB being able to do that; there are too many people who, sadly, have written off BB as dead or irrelevant. Now BB does have other other ways to turn a profit: add-free BBM subscription, BES, partnerships with Samsung and Google to make Android more enterprise ready, etc. Maybe this is enough to offset devices sold near cost. Most Android manufacturers have competed on price, and none of them have really done all that well with the exception of Samsung. Of course, other manufacturers are eating away at their market share, so Samsung's outlook isn't as good as in years past. I'd love to pay lower prices for a shiny new BB device, but would that mean for the future of the company? Their unlocked phones are quite reasonably priced when compared to other devices out there.

[birdman_38]

I worry about BB trying to compete on price. Low margins mean you need to sell a very high quantity. I don't see BB being able to do that

They should be able to make a profit sourcing two year old components.

[Apollo_IV]

Just scrap it... this is a failure waiting to happen.

[Monsterlad]

I've seen people saying $199, i'm hoping it'll be lower but still - Pretty good bang for the buck

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[Josh_Gooner]

Blackberry has been slowly but surely pushing me towards iOS.

Have been waiting for a proper upgrade to my Z10 and nothing seems forthcoming.

Posted via CB10

[joeragan]

I guess the first few hundreds unit will be sold at $200, the rest will be $250ish, same thing as Z3 when it was launched.

Posted via Z30STA100-2/10.3.1.2267

[Prem WatsApp]

I guess the first few hundreds unit will be sold at $200, the rest will be $250ish, same thing as Z3 when it was launched.

Posted via Z30STA100-2/10.3.1.2267

It's been a while, so components might be cheaper now... :-)

�   "Oh Classic, you are the fairest here so true. But Passport is a thousand times more powerful than you..." (no offense, Classic is a great device, when it's charged)   �

[AnimalPak200]

I don't quite get why putting a Z30 'core' and Z30 internals into a 5" device (=Z30) would justify an entirely separate product that just looks like a Z3. They clearly don't want to stop selling the Z30, so if you want a Z30 core and Z30 internals,.. just go buy a Z30.

The truth is likely much simpler. They probably want to sell the Z3 in LTE regions and the Z10 core was the crappiest LTE chipset they could find still available... plus they're already familiar with it and how it runs BB10.

The only unified strategy BlackBerry's device division has at the moment is to be as minimal of a financial burden as it can to the rest of BlackBerry. To be as small of a money pit as it can be.

Reusing components, design and integration knowledge may help... but people still need to buy whatever results from all the thriftyness.

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[bh7171]

Excellent post OP. Nice analysis. The Leap definitely has a place in the market. With 10.3.1 (or future updates) this phone will meet 75 percent of all full touch users needs.

The White Knight-BlackBerry Passport

[AlaJack]

The Leap will be a complete and utter flop.

Posted via CB10

[MollyMorton]

The safe bet is that BlackBerry will price it too high as they always do. I'm hoping that this time they fight the temptation to do something dumb with the price point, and actually release a cheap phone with great specs for its price bracket.

Posted via CB10

[MollyMorton]

The name is stupid too. Leap seems like something for exciting than a budget phone, and sets the device up to be underwhelming. Maybe the BlackBerry Hop? The BlackBerry Wiggle? The BlackBerry Shake? Shimmy? Amble?

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