Blackberry, which has been facing stiff competition from
several key smartphones brand in the market, recently launched the Blackberry
Leap priced at Rs 21,490. The third touch-based device from the erstwhile RIM's
stable is a follow up of the Z10 and the Z30 smartphone. Here is Leap's
evaluation:
Design: Although the phone looks chunky, the build of the
Leap is quite good and so is the grip. It is a durable handset with dimensions
of 144 mm x 72 mm x 9.50 mm and weighs around 170 grams.The back panel houses
the camera and the speaker mesh (which results in sounds muffling once the
phone is lying on its back). The front panel of the device houses the screen
with the earpiece unit at the top. The mute and Volume rocker keys are placed
on the right side while the power key is placed at the top. The microUSB port
is located at the bottom edge and the left edge houses the micro-sim and
microSD card slots. The 3.5 mm headphone jack is integrated at the top.
Display, Camera and Sound: The Leap's display is sharp but
could have been better. It ships with a 5 inches touchscreen display with a
resolution of 720x1280 pixels at 294 PPI (which is less than the current
competition). There were no issues with viewing angles.
The Leap comes with an 8MP rear camera unit with auto-focus
and LED flash and sports a 2MP front-facing camera. One of the unique things
about the camera is the 'Time Shift' feature that allows the user the option to
select the best photo from a series of still shots. Photos were a little grainy
in low light but otherwise the camera unit seems to be working fine. The front
unit will not serve as a very good selfie camera but is decent for video chats.
When it comes to sound, the Leap has good output quality and a good pair of
headphones will make music enjoyable on the go.
Hardware & performance: At the core, the new device gets
its juice from a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor combined
with a 2GB RAM unit. Although there has been no change at the processor front,
the user will experience lesser lags and delays while multi-tasking or
switching between apps. The device comes with 16GB of internal storage which
can be expanded to 128GB using a microSD card unit. Casual gaming on the phone
was smooth although heavy games caused the device to stutter a bit.
Operating system and apps: The device runs on the latest
BlackBerry OS 10.3.1 which looks better than previous versions. Interestingly,
the Leap comes with BlackBerry Meetings, the company's new video and voice
conference app that can help a user to start a video and audio conference with
up to 25 participants from their mobile device. Also, the phone allows the user
to download and use Android apps (third-party). The OS piggybacks on the
BlackBerry Blend that brings messaging and content on a user's phone to a
computer or a tablet.The Leap can also read gestures, lift to wake, flip to
mute, and flip to save power. It also offers FM radio without recording
capability.
Battery and connectivity: A 2,800mAH battery is what keeps
the smartphone running. The device has a good battery backup and can last
nearly 16 days on standby. On the connectivity front, the device supports 4G
and Bluetooth but there is no near field communication capability.
Verdict: The Leap is a mixture of so many things but we feel
that the firm is still banking on the enterprise-use approach which might not
aid the sales of the device. The device is nowhere close to competition from
Android, Cynanogen or Windows device. Plus it lacks a USP making the Leap look
overpriced from certain angles. For blackberry die-hards, it's a leap of faith.
Source From:- http://www.newindianexpress.com/
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