BlackBerry has just unveiled a new phone called the Leap. This phone has a touchscreen face, a 5-inch HD display, and a 1280x720-pixel resolution. The company has stated that the phone is aimed at the young career builder, and the phone actually looks promising.

What’s To Like

The Leap is really BlackBerry’s second chance at trying to entertain a younger market. The company has largely gone back to its roots with QWERTY keyboards and phones that business people once loved, so it’s a reach to offer up a phone that’s based entirely on a touchscreen. But, I like the look of the Leap, and the reviews so far are quite positive. The phone has been described as being sturdy and rugged, but slim enough to compete with other touchscreen options in its class.

On the back of the Leap is an 8-megapixel rear camera that is capable of shooting up to 1080p HD. The MSM 8960 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. That should be enough space for most people, but the nice thing about the Leap is that you can also expand storage thanks to a microSD card slot that BlackBerry has stuck on the edge of the phone. You’ll also get 25 hours of use out of a single battery charge, according to the company.

Security Features

If there’s one thing that BlackBerry is known for, it’s security. The reason why this company’s phones are so widely used throughout the business world is that BlackBerry phones are known to be rather secure, so this was at the forefront of the new Leap design as well. The Leap phone will have various options that let users wipe out the handset when needed, encryption services, and built-in malware protection. The phone will also come with BlackBerry Assistant, and the cross-platform tool that the company created called Blend.

Where to Get It

The new BlackBerry Leap will be available in the US and across Europe this week. The phone will retail for $279 unlocked, which is a decent price to pay if you are looking for a smartphone that’s not in the same price range as, say, and Apple phone. Keeping in line with the business crowd that it wants to attract, the Leap will only be available in grey and white.

From all angles and sides, the Leap looks like a good buy too, even though it is a move in a completely different direction for BlackBerry.

BlackBerry has also told press that the company is working on a second phone nicknamed ‘The Slider’ that will be introduced soon enough. There aren’t that many details to go along with the additional phone yet, but I’ll keep you updated as soon as BlackBerry makes that announcement. If you are in the market for a new smartphone, the Leap is worth a look. It’s not the phone out there with the craziest features, but it is a solid phone that does look great at first glance.