Up close with the BlackBerry Leap (pictures)

Meet the BlackBerry Leap. You'll probably notice the distinct lack of a physical keyboard. That's the norm for modern smartphones, and BlackBerry is hoping the fresh look and productivity-driven platform will lure young professionals to the brand.

The Leap is running BlackBerry OS 10.3.1. It includes the Android app store, though it's missing many of the most popular apps you'd find in the official Google Play Store.

The phone's plain, no-frills design is arguably rather professional; a textured back  makes things easy to grip. The 2,800mAh battery isn't removable.

At 0.37 inch thick (9.4 millimeters) it's not exactly svelte, but certainly not cumbersome.

The 8-megapixel camera on the rear isn't especially impressive.

Pop open this flap to access the SIM and microSD card slots. The Leap can support up to 128GB microSD cards.

The volume controls sit on the right side. That button in the middle calls up the BlackBerry Assistant -- just press and hold it to start issuing text or voice commands.

The lock button sits up top.

The phone charges and transfers files through a standard Micro-USB port.