From CNET BlackBerry devices executive Ron Louks teases a BlackBerry with a slide-out keyboard.Sarah Tew/CNET
BARCELONA -- BlackBerry is going back to a full touchscreen with the BlackBerry Leap.
The Leap marks a return to touchscreen, with last year's line-up totally dependent on its trademark physical keyboard. The company plans to start selling the smartphone, which will retail for $275, in April in Europe.
BlackBerry devices executive Ron Louks also teased another smartphone with a curved display that wraps around the side, like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, and a slide-out keyboard. There isn't a name for the device, but CEO John Chen said he calls it "the slider." He also said the company would release a second Porsche edition BlackBerry and another keyboard smartphone.
The BlackBerry Leap will target a specific segment of young customers.Sarah Tew / CNET
BlackBerry is in the midst of a transformation, moving from purely a smartphone manufacturer to a provider of business services, including helping companies manage a wide array of mobile devices. The company spent the early part of theMobile World Congress trade show making several business announcements, including the desire to bring more BlackBerry apps and services to the iPhone and Android smartphones and a strengthened partnership with Samsung and its Knox business service. As an illustration of the trend, a vast majority of its 90-minute conference was dominated by software.
But BlackBerry still counts roughly three-quarters of its revenue from smartphones, and it needs a hit. The company unveiled four devices in 2014, a low-cost BlackBerry Z3 constructed with manufacturing partner Foxconn, a niche Porsche edition BlackBerry, the extra-wide Passport and the BlackBerry Classic.
As for the Leap, which was outed on its website, Louks said BlackBerry was going after the "young career builder, someone looking to make a difference."
The company went back to a touchscreen smartphone so it could target "a segment of the market," Chen said. "We're very careful about how we position our product."
It has a 5-inch, 1280 by 720 HD touch display with 293 pixels per inch, 8 megapixel camera with 1080 HD video recording, 16 gigabytes of storage and 25 hours of battery life.
Chen added that BlackBerry would largely focus on keyboard products.
BlackBerry's influence in the smartphone world is waning. The BlackBerry operating system saw its market share retreat even further in 2014, falling to just 0.4 percent of the market from 1.9 percent a year ago, according to IDC. In comparison, Android controlled more than 80 percent of the market.
Chen declined to comment on how well the Passport and Classic performed, as they've both launched earlier this year. He said it was a good indication that more carriers were willing to sell its products.
Still, BlackBerry is ahead of schedule on its two-year turnaround plan, eking out a profit (excluding one-time items) in the last quarter.
"The company's financials are stabilizing," Chen said in the conference, noting that he expects to stabilize its revenue.
BlackBerry shows off the new Leap smartphone in Barcelona.Sarah Tew/CNET
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