Arirang (smartphone)

Arirang (Korean: 아리랑) is a North Korean Android smartphone announced on 10 August 2013. The phone was distributed to local sales points operated by mobile operators such as Koryolink to be sold together with 3G SIM cards or as a stand-alone device. It is named after the "Arirang" Korean folk song.[1]

Arirang
ManufacturerLocal vendor
TypeSmartphone
Form factorSlate
Operating systemAndroid
Data inputsMulti-touch, capacitive touchscreen
Push buttons

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea's state news agency, reported that the phone, which utilizes a touch screen and a camera with "high pixels," is produced entirely within North Korea.[2] The phone appears to run a derivative of the Android operating system. Blogger Martyn Williams has expressed skepticism, commenting that the phone may actually be produced in China and then inspected or completed in North Korea.[3][4] Kim Jong Un has expressed his excitement with and support of the smartphone, believing it will support the country's economy and "instill national pride and self-respect".[5][6]

The phone, model number AS1201, is a re-branded and re-badged Uniscope U1201[7] and runs a slightly modified version of Android 4.0.4.[8]

The Arirang 171 (아리랑171) was released in 2018.[9] The phone runs Android Nougat and contains a 2.6 GHz MT6797 chip from MediaTek.[9] The Arirang 171 can connect to the Mirae WiFi network.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Arirang, le smartphone nord-coréen". Lesnumeriques.com. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  2. Ashley, Coates (12 August 2013). "Is North Korea to take on Apple with its version of the iPhone?". Telegraph UK. Archived from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. Fisher, Max (12 August 2013). "Kim Jong Un inspects North Korea's first smartphone, an Android clone". Washington Post. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  4. "Skepticism as North Korea launches 'home-grown' Arirang smartphone". News Corp Australia. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  5. Rieser, Bennett (12 August 2013). "North Korea Unveils the Arirang, the Painfully Ironic Android Smartphone". WebProNews. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  6. "Kim Jong Un Visits May 11 Factory". Archived from the original on 13 March 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  7. "Uniscope U1201（GSM+CDMA dual mode）_手机_uniscope". En.uniscope.com. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  8. koryolink Arirang AS1201 (North Korea's Smartphone) - Review. Youtube.com. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  9. Martyn, Williams (20 March 2018). "Arirang 171 smartphone unveiled". North Korea Tech.
  10. Ji, Dagyum (14 November 2018). Hotham, Oliver (ed.). "Smartphone-capable WiFi on show at Pyongyang IT exhibition, state TV reveals". NK News. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Company technician Hwang Yong Jo told KCTV in the footage that the Arirang 171 smartphone — first unveiled in March — improves user convenience by enabling people to access the internet on-the-go. Users would need to use a SIM Card to access the Mirae network, he added.
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