Tag: blackberry smartphones

Blackberry smartphones are getting cheaper

| April 24, 2015

The Canadian mobile handset maker is lowering the price tag associated with some of its key devices.

According to recently published reports, BlackBerry smartphones are starting to see some notably lower price tags associated with their purchase, including: BlackBerry Classic, BlackBerry Passport, BlackBerry Z30, and BlackBerry Q5.

The company announced the prices on the official store site, this week, and are effective immediately.

Among the Blackberry smartphones that are raising eyebrows in terms of their newly reduced prices are the Classic and the Passport. This is particularly true because these were released with a great deal of fanfare, only last year. The Passport features a 13 megapixel camera and a uniquely square shaped touch screen. The Classic, on the other hand, has an 8 megapixel camera and a considerable 22 hours of battery life.

The Passport BlackBerry smartphone price has been reduced by a hefty $50, bringing it to $549 from $599.

BlackBerry Smartphones - Prices LoweredThe $50 reduction in price is also available on the Classic, which is now being sold for $399 instead of $449. The $50 appears to be the standard savings that has been applied to all of the devices that have been included in this price reduction. That said, the Q5 will now be sold for an even better price as it has been given an ultra affordable price of $149 instead of its typical price of $249. Similarly, the Z30 is now going for only $229 when it used to be $349.

Those are the prices that have been listed on the U.S. BlackBerry website, but it appears as though the reduction in cost is being applied to the devices around the world. For example, in the United Kingdom, the Passport used to be priced at £559 but now they are being sold for £529 and the Classic, which used to be £319 is now £349.

The reduction in the price of the BlackBerry smartphones occurred following a Morgan Stanley report that indicated that there has a reduction in the sales of the company’s mobile devices. It has been working to increase their sales, particularly among their premium devices. Enhancing affordability appears to be the latest step in the company’s strategy.

The BlackBerry Leap loses the signature keyboard

| March 26, 2015

The Canadian handset maker has dumped their physical QWERTY keyboards to attract new users.

While other smartphones from the Canadian manufacturer will continue to have the distinctive physical QWERTY keyboards, the latest device to be launched, the BlackBerry Leap, is losing this feature in favor of touch screen typing.

The goal is to be able to help the brand to appeal to younger professionals who are used to this mobile experience.

The BlackBerry Leap has been designed with younger professionals in mind. While the company is still focused on the business world as opposed to the consumer market, it has recognized that people under a certain age are comfortable functioning with a touch screen keyboard. Therefore, they have dropped the keypad for this device, in order to help them to compete with the Samsung Galaxy 6, the Apple iPhone 6, and other popular premium devices within the business community.

The BlackBerry Leap has also had a much more attractive price tag associated with it, to improve its appeal.

BlackBerry Leap loses keyboardUnlike its notably more expensive competition, the retail price for the new Leap smartphone is set at $275. That is about half the price of the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6. The device, itself, had previously been launched, but more information was revealed in order to help to boost the hype surrounding its release, which will be in April.

That said, there is still some mystery surrounding the device. While it is known that the Leap mobile device will still include the enterprise management and security tools and features that have become synonymous with BlackBerry smartphones, the nature of the keyboard for this device has not yet been made completely clear.

These smartphones will still have built in protection against malware, backup features, as well as wipe and restore capabilities. Owners of the BlackBerry Leap can also expect to take advantage of some of the company’s apps, such as the Blend, which gives users the ability to access their smartphone content with their tablets and laptop computers. The company has been taking a number of new tacks to work its way back into relevance within the business market.