North Korea’s “Arirang” smartphone is indeed a copy of a cheap Chinese brand

It is one thing to make a cheap
knock-off of an established brand,
but making a copy of an ultra-low-end
device just does not make sense,
unless you are North Korea. North Korea’s Arirang AS1201
smartphone, a “home grown” triumph
of the technological prowess of the
DPRK.
The device is indeed a copy of the
Chinese branded Uniscope U1201. Both
are Android powered handsets. The
Chinese brand costs about $100 in
Beijing which may seem like a deal,
even for a low end device, but after
you see the specs you will still probably
think otherwise.
The Uniscope U1201 is a dual-SIM, 3G
device with 4GB of expandable
storage, 768MB of RAM, a 540x960
“4.1-4.9-inches” display (we will say
4.3-inches), 8MP camera and a
1600mAh battery. The CPU is a dual-
core, Spreadtrum chip at
“1.2-1.4GHz.”
It is a safe bet that the North Korean
counterpart has similar, or even
lesser specifications than the
Uniscope. There is still speculation
that the device is made in China and
reboxed in North Korea. Then again,
we assume nothing. We will not even
assert that the AS1201 has cellular
connectivity, it is North Korea after
all. We shared information about a
tablet offered up in the DPRK that did
not even have Wi-Fi connectivity,
because, who needs the internet when
you got the dear leader?
Speaking of which, the AS1201 is
certainly featuring a vast array of
approved apps and media from the dear
leader. No doubt Google Play is no
where to be found, but it is not out of
the realm of possibility there is some
type of basketball app featuring Dennis
Rodman included with the device.