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North Korea knockoffs smartphone

Posted April. 08, 2014 02:35,   

한국어

North Korea’s “Arirang” smartphone turned out to be a copy of a Chinese low-end brand.

According to Phone Arena on Monday, North Korea’s “Arirang AS1201” smartphone is a copy of a Chinese branded Uniscope U1201. The Chinese brand costs around 100 dollars in Beijing and uses Google’s Android. It is a 3G device with 4GB of expandable storage, 768 of RAM, 4.1-4.9 inches display, and 8MP rear camera.

The Korean Central News Agency, North Korea’s state-run news media, reported in August last year that Kim Jong Un visited an electronics factory three months ago and the factory produced a new mobile phone called “Arirang.” IT media said, however, that the smartphone has similar or even lesser specifications than the Uniscope. It is likely that North Korea changed the brand of phones that it imported from China and packaged the phones after adding some software.

According to Koryo Link, North Korea’s only telecommunications service provider, North Korea has more than two million mobile phone subscribers. As most businessmen use more than two mobile phones, the actual number of users seems to be much less than that.