[Thunderbuck]

I'm having a hard time understanding BB's reasoning behind this "leap" and its position/introduction into their fleet of phones. I'm sure they have thought it out, better than most of us can anyway, but I do have my doubts with the decision.

My take on the situation.....I know BB wanted to make use of left over parts, but at what expense to their image and existing customer base? At what point should a company (of almost any kind) realize that left over parts are destined for the bin, and can not be used to lessen a loss, or for creating a "new" product just because the parts are there??
I would love to see what the actual costs were for building a new phone with used parts, creating the "segment" and the marketing involved, versus say.. tweaking the z30, and marketing that as a new phone, a BETTER phone.

The Leap is an "affordable" full-touch (as opposed to "budget" which would be even cheaper). The best hope for making BB10 a viable mobile OS is to get it into as many hands as possible. More customers means a more attractive environment for developers, which will in turn bring even more customers.

And it's not "leftover parts" any more than the iPhone 5S is made from "leftover" parts. They continue to build it because the design and production tooling is already paid for so they can sell it cheaper. It is an extremely common practice and there are even many cars sold this way.

Posted from CB10 on my classy Passport--TBUCK64

[early2bed]

Using left-over parts? I don't think so. There are probably cheaper and, more importantly, easier to source components. Sourcing parts for flagship devices is definitely an issue because the large volume companies may have tied up these for many many months.

I don't really think the Leap is targeted at the "You Are a Startup" guy unless his company simply doesn't want to spend a lot of money on smartphones for new employees.

[1guitarguy]

People don't seem to realize the specs are actually much like the z30 than the z3. But agreed they still should've had a z30 replacement

Posted via CB10

[cgk]

Using left-over parts? I don't think so. There are probably cheaper and, more importantly, easier to source components. Sourcing parts for flagship devices is definitely an issue because the large volume companies may have tied up these for many many months.

I don't really think the Leap is targeted at the "You Are a Startup" guy unless his company simply doesn't want to spend a lot of money on smartphones for new employees.

BBRY make the start-up angle pretty explicit with this:




As for leftover parts, Looking on GSM area - it looks like the left-over guts from the z10 (how else do you explain a three years old processor - that's ancient in mobile terms) plus screens from the z30 or very similar.

[Maxxxpower]

It's for those who want a 16:9 phone with great specs at a great price. Simple.

Spec wise it stands up pretty well against the iPhone 5s

‎The stuff you guys are smoking must be pretty strong...

[smart548]

Benchmarks aside, a dual core like the one on the Leap can run everything. Why people care about it? An old processor that can run everything(games and apps) with a big battery and a decent screen. At a good price.
It is targeted virtually to everybody who don't look for a flagship but a solid phone..

Posted via CB10

[twiggyrj]

Using left-over parts? I don't think so. There are probably cheaper and, more importantly, easier to source components. Sourcing parts for flagship devices is definitely an issue because the large volume companies may have tied up these for many many months.

I don't really think the Leap is targeted at the "You Are a Startup" guy unless his company simply doesn't want to spend a lot of money on smartphones for new employees.

Add to that the "Startup Guy" is usually young and hip, especially in the tech startups and they don't favourably look at BlackBerry. When you lol at these new smart accessory startups that are coming out of nowhere don't support using BlackBerries with their products.

[NG888]

I guess they thought the classic would cut it, but turned out that it was too high of a ticket item for the mass enterprise, and probably got a lot of feedback that the general entry level to mid management group is gearing more towards a full touch, given the age demographics, hence the leap.



Posted via CB10

[Bbnivende]

I guess they thought the classic would cut it, but turned out that it was too high of a ticket item for the mass enterprise, and probably got a lot of feedback that the general entry level to mid management group is gearing more towards a full touch, given the age demographics, hence the leap.



Posted via CB10

The Leap has been on the road map for a long while.

Posted via CB10

[Blackberry-Prince]

I am a bit at loss of words. How do u describe leap as a standalone device and sell. I just cannot get the image of Z3 out of my head when I look at Leap. Is it simply an upgrade from the Z3 and why would I want to spend my hard earned money on it when I know it is not that big a difference to my already existing device....

Blackberry Classic | Circa 2015

Specs wise? Umm for 3 year olds . As JC calls it "It isss aimed for the young enterprise customers"
Interviewer-What you want from Blackberry?
JC-We just want productivity

Interviewer- What is the future of Blackberry?
JC-Productivity

That is one word he has used in every single interview. Productivity

[ljfong]

If I were young and hip like the "Startup Guy" in the advertisement, I would have carried an iPhone 6, the latest and greatest and use all kinds of apps for productivity AND entertainment on the go. Work hard and play hard too.

[Bbnivende]

In Canada many Enterprise end users do not get a choice of what phone they can use. It is the IT dept. that decides. The company that goes all BlackBerry will offer the Leap and Classic for the most part. The lack of Android apps is starting to be a problem. Enterprise does not support Snap.

[early2bed]

I just have a hard time believing that anyone - even a marketing person - would believe that the young startup guy who uses a MacBook and an iPad would choose a Leap as his smartphone. It looks like some PR company put together a video based on the "You Are a Startup" theme (ping pong, twenty-somethings, coffee, Nerf guns, plaid shirts all around, ironic bicycle helmet, whiteboards, MacBooks, iPad) and put the Leap in there.

[jaydee5799]

If I wanted a full touch device I might buy it. A likely solid device for half the price of a flagship on another platform.

I'd probably prefer a Z30, but the point is, it's a mid-range device. The people bashing it are generally just pissy because they're not getting a Z50 with bleeding edge specs for $499 released tomorrow.

Posted via CB10

And why should we be pissy? we got the money to buy a new flagship device and none in sight.
a slider? a flip phone? don't make me laugh! lol
But the Leap..........not worth a second look either sorry.

[Fidel Mercado]

Lol. Somebody had to say it.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[Grafic111]

To me it simply does not have a USP like other recent BlackBerry phones. And that could be it's Undoing. Unless ofcourse I am all wrong (I hope so) and Chen has something up his sleeve on this one.

Blackberry Classic | Circa 2015

[Bbnivende]

To me it simply does not have a USP like other recent BlackBerry phones. And that could be it's Undoing. Unless ofcourse I am all wrong (I hope so) and Chen has something up his sleeve on this one.

Blackberry Classic | Circa 2015

USP ?

[Grafic111]

USP ?

Unique Selling Proposition

Blackberry Classic | Circa 2015

[bintaro_gw]

I believe BBRY still cooking something for the OS and in meantime they launch devices to prove BB devices still alive. BB Leap is one of their selling point for enterprise. I am waiting for QNX show us the magic, the perfect BB10 OS will run with minimum spec and perform at it best at par even more compare to other platforms.

[gruv4u]

Go to BlackBerry.com and read about it. Or go home YouTube. I'm assuming you've done neither because it's explained early.

Z10 STL 100-3 with vitamin 10.3.1.2582

[jmr1015]

And it's not "leftover parts" any more than the iPhone 5S is made from "leftover" parts. They continue to build it because the design and production tooling is already paid for so they can sell it cheaper. It is an extremely common practice and there are even many cars sold this way.

Posted from CB10 on my classy Passport--TBUCK64

I get what you're trying to say, but no, it's not similar. The Leap is a new phone being released in 2015, using components from 2012. It is not the same as the iPhone 5S, a phone released in 2013, still being in production and sold today, in 2015. The closest Apple has come to something like the Leap, was with the iPhone 5C in 2013, which as everyone knows, is just a slightly updated iPhone 5 in a cheaper plastic body. A 2013 "new" model that has 2012's flagship internals, in a cheaper wrapper.

[mkelley65]

Its quite expensive and the specs aren't too great either, you can get very good and specced devices for less. It's much more likely to be a device that is bought in bulk for a fleet deployment that goes with BES as a sweetened deal.

The Leap is priced at $275 US on pre-order from BlackBerry. I can assure those of us on Carrier Enterprise contracts will pay a fraction of that in bulk. The leap pricing has made me change my mind about waiting for a flagship touch for employees and also stopped me from ordering a bunch of Passports and Classics. Contract refresh was March 22 but on hold until I see what my carrier (AT&T) does for me with the Leap.
I have a feeling my employees will be getting Leaps to replace aging Z10s and Q10s that don't cost me a dime on contract. I'm a small shop (31 phones and 22 tablets on BES12) but this could be huge for larger enterprises.

[twiggyrj]

The Leap is priced at $275 US on pre-order from BlackBerry. I can assure those of us on Carrier Enterprise contracts will pay a fraction of that in bulk. The leap pricing has made me change my mind about waiting for a flagship touch for employees and also stopped me from ordering a bunch of Passports and Classics. Contract refresh was March 22 but on hold until I see what my carrier (AT&T) does for me with the Leap.

I have a feeling my employees will be getting Leaps to replace aging Z10s and Q10s that don't cost me a dime on contract. I'm a small shop (31 phones and 22 tablets on BES12) but this could be huge for larger enterprises.

Yeah which is why I think its aimed as a bulk fleet replacer, for regular joes its not a particularly great device but great for those replacing the old fleet of devices in bulk.

[Grafic111]

USP's of all BB10 phones released till now or to be released -

Z10 - first BB10 full touch phone. Probably blackberry's most revolutionary ever
Q10 - the best keypad phone ever without the trackpad
Q5 - well it did not have a USP as such. Tanked!
Z30 - revolutionary is the size and specs of the phone
Z3 - a very good phone for a very good price.
Passport - Need I say more
Classic - first BB10 phone with a trackpad. Larger screen and 10.3
Leap - still looking???
Slider - we already know this will be different.

Blackberry Classic | Circa 2015

[mkelley65]

In Canada many Enterprise end users do not get a choice of what phone they can use. It is the IT dept. that decides. The company that goes all BlackBerry will offer the Leap and Classic for the most part. The lack of Android apps is starting to be a problem. Enterprise does not support Snap.

You can not load/run Android Apps (Even the ported ones on BBWorld) on the Work side if using BES anyway. I allow my IT guys to load Snap on the Play side if a user requests it. There's not much to support. It either works or it doesn't. They do understand No Google Services. They have tablets for that since we moved away from the PlayBook to Androids.