North Korea unveils 'native' Android smartphone

[wraggster]

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/08/as1201-arirang-north-korea.jpg (http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/12/north-korea-unveils-native-android-smartphone/)North Korea likes to say that it's on the cutting edge (http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/27/north-korean-tablet/), even if it usually isn't (http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/21/north-korea-allows-tourists-to-rent-phones-or-sim-cards/) -- and that now includes a locally-built smartphone, the AS1201 Arirang. We don't know much about the Android handset, but state media claims that it's made in Pyongyang and ships with a domestically produced app. As you'd imagine, many outside of North Korea are skeptical of the AS1201's supposed roots. While it's difficult to verify North Korea Tech's suspicions (http://www.northkoreatech.org/2013/08/12/kim-jong-un-visits-cell-phone-factory/) that a Chinese firm makes the device on North Korea's behalf, the hardware is using stock Android -- you know, the OS designed by those "capitalist American pig-dogs" at Google (http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/10/eric-schmidt-suggests-internet-for-north-korea/). There's also the question of the device's real-world usefulness. As long as North Korea bans mobile internet use (http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/22/north-korea-visitors-mobile-internet-access-3g/), the Ariang won't be much more capable than your typical feature phone (http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/22/lg-strolls-into-town-with-c300-featurephone-offers-portrait-qwe/).

http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/12/north-korea-unveils-native-android-smartphone/