BlackBerry Keeps Foothold In Smartphone Space With Midrange Phone Release

BlackBerry exhibited its latest enterprise-centered, midrange smartphone, the BlackBerry Leap, at a Tuesday event during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Partners stressed that the launch of the 5-inch-wide, touch-screen BlackBerry Leap exemplifies that the Waterloo, Ontario-based company, which has long struggled for smartphone market share, is powering forward by relying on its top-notch enterprise and security mobile features.

"BlackBerry acknowledging that young professionals are going to BYOD wherever they choose to work and pricing a product to suit their needs is a smart move," stated Robby Hill, founder and CEO of HillSouth, a Florence, S.C.-based BlackBerry partner. "We rarely see a smartphone manufacturer work so hard to acknowledge BYOD, and BlackBerry is smart to do this by explaining the value proposition of their product and its price point on the new Leap device. We can only see now if the carriers follow through and market it in the same way that BlackBerry is positioning Leap."

[Related: BlackBerry Delivers Cross-Platform Software And Services Blitz At MWC ]

The BlackBerry Leap targets the midrange market, set to cost $275 when it is released in the U.S. in April, according to BlackBerry. However, like its high-end predecessors launched in the fall, the 4.5-inch-wide touch-screen 32-GB BlackBerry Passport and 3.5-inch 16-GB BlackBerry Classic, the BlackBerry Leap's assets shine through its enterprise-aimed security and productivity features.

The new device contains support for encryption, built-in malware protection, and backup protection against data breaches and cyberattacks. It will envelope BlackBerry's newer features that became available in February, such as its connected messaging and content feature, BlackBerry Blend, and its digital voice-activated assistant, BlackBerry Assistant. It will be powered on a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor.

All eyes have been on BlackBerry after it reported a 34 percent revenue decrease to $793 million during its December 2014 third-quarter earnings, a loss of $148 million.

Partners hope that adoption of the new device will help BlackBerry generate cash and stabilize its revenue. But, stated Michael Gold, president of Mountain View, Calif.-based partner Intermedia, attracting a loyal base of business end users and developers is critical to success.

"I’d love to see the launch of BlackBerry Leap put pressure on other mobile vendors to create more business-grade mobile hardware at an affordable price-point," said Gold. "As always, with new BlackBerry devices, though, the proof will be in adoption. We know from our recent Intermedia SMB Mobile Trends report that BlackBerry continues to have a small-but-steady base of loyalty among our business email users. If the Leap can help grow this base, perhaps they'll start to attract the attention of developers once again -- which is, of course, the chicken-and-egg challenge that all mobile vendors are facing today."

In addition to BlackBerry Leap, BlackBerry CEO John Chen also announced that three more devices would be unveiled later in the year at an unspecified date, including a curved-screen phone with a slide-out keyboard component and a keyboard-based model, according to the Wall Street Journal .

Before the smartphone launch, the company has focused more on its software products at Mobile World Congress by stepping up its cross-platform strategy. On Sunday, BlackBerry announced the availability of its enterprise features like the BlackBerry Hub and virtual keyboard to Windows, Android and iOS platforms.

BlackBerry also announced that it would integrate its WorkLife product with Samsung's SecuSUITE with Knox security solution, Sunday, as part of an extension of its partnership with the South Korean-based smartphone company.

Mobile World Congress will continue to hold mobility-related conferences, shows and events through Thursday.

PUBLISHED MARCH 3, 2015