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BlackBerry plans to launch a sliding 'dual-curved display' phone this year

BlackBerry plans to launch a sliding 'dual-curved display' phone this year

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The portrait slider returns

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During a press conference at Mobile World Congress today, BlackBerry revealed that it plans to launch a new touchscreen slider device later this year. The new phone doesn't have a name, price, or exact release date, but it has what BlackBerry calls a "dual curved display" that appears similar to that of Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge. It's similar in appearance to the old BlackBerry Torch or even Dell's Venue Pro from 2010.

In addition to the new slider, BlackBerry says it will launch a new Porsche Design device and another keyboard-based phone. No further details were given for those new models.

BlackBerry Leap

BlackBerry also announced a new low-end touchscreen phone today, called the Leap. The Leap is a 5-inch, 720p slate-style smartphone with an ancient dual-core Qualcomm processor. It has roughly the same specs as the Galaxy S4 or HTC One X from two years ago. It will sell for around $275 and will first go on sale in emerging markets such as Brazil and Indonesia.

Earlier this week, BlackBerry announced an initiative to bring more of its software to other platforms, including iOS, Android, and Windows. In addition to BBM, which has been available since last year, the company says it will release apps like the BlackBerry Hub and calendar for the other platforms. The BlackBerry Experience will be available later this year.