Canadian mobile phone maker BlackBerry launched its five-inch all-touch smartphone, the BlackBerry Leap, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In a statement BlackBerry said the new device would help consumers and companies looking for enterprise fleet renewals with security and privacy at the forefront.

The BlackBerry Leap comes preloaded with the BlackBerry 10.3.1 operating system and boasts features such as a five-inch HD display and more than a full day's battery power.

Other features include encryption support plus built-in malware protection and back-up, wipe and restore.

Another feature is the BlackBerry Blend that brings messaging and content from your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer and tablet. BlackBerry Blend also works across desktop operating systems, including Mac OS X 10.7 +, Windows 7+ and Android tablets running Android 4.4+ via cellular, USB or Wi-Fi connections.

Included is BlackBerry Assistant, which is the device brand's first digital assistant, and can be used with voice and text commands to help users manage work and personal email, contacts, and calendar.

The price of the new smartphone; however, hasn't been disclosed by the Canadian company.

Meanwhile, former BlackBerry co-chief executive, Jim Balsillie has said BlackBerry's introduction of its touchscreen device, the Storm was a rushed attempt, which resulted in devastating outcomes for the company.

Balsillie told the Associated Press he knew BlackBerry couldn't compete after the iPhone's introduction in 2007.

He said the impact of rushing it out was devastating, according to the AP report.

"With Storm we tried to do too much. It was a touch display, it was a clickable display, it had new applications, and it was all done in an incredibly short period of time and it blew up on us," Balsillie was quoted saying.

"That was the time I knew we couldn't compete on high end hardware," AP reports.

In the US BlackBerry now holds a small fraction of the country's smartphone market after commanding a nearly 50% share as recently as 2009.

However, in Africa BlackBerry's market will continue to grow.

According to The Mobile Africa 2015 study conducted by mobile surveying company, GeoPoll, and World Wide Worx - BlackBerry, which has held steady at 6% penetration for current and previous phones, is expected to rise to 16%.

The study revealed that BlackBerry will retain its position as the third most popular phone brand in major African markets for now.