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.

iPhone 5C spotted in new high- resolution pictures, expected price leaks

The purported low-cost iPhone just
doesn't stop when it comes to making
appearances online.
New high resolution photos of the
alleged device have surfaced online,
once again, courtesy Sonny Dickson who
had earlier shared a video of a
partially assembled low-cost iPhone
(also identified as iPhone 5C).
Dickson has posted an entire picture
gallery featuring close up shots of the
low cost iPhone's back and sides, in
addition to photos of its internals.
The device pictured matches the one
that previously appeared in high
resolution images and video
.
The pictures show the same plastic
polycarbonate body back panel that
appeared in recent leaks, in glossy
White, complete with a round camera
lens and LED flash, Apple logo and
iPhone branding.
At the bottom of the phone, there's a
small hole for the second microphone,
next to the 3.5mm headset jack port,
two screw holes with the Lightning
connector port at the centre, and four
holes for the speaker towards bottom
right.
It's worth pointing out that similar to
previous appearances, the shell does not
have any buttons or even a SIM-tray,
though it does have holes at the
designated places in line with the
iPhone 5. It also doesn't have any
certification logos. Perhaps the device
is still a stage away from the final
product. The pictures of the internals
also don't reveal much as they don't
feature the main board.
While the device is said to be the low
cost iPhone, it's still difficult to
confirm if Apple will indeed launch it
this fall when it's expected to
announce new devices.
It's also being rumoured that Apple will
launch the phone at a price of 3000
yuan ($490 or Rs. 30,000 approximately)
. According to a post on Sina Weibo by
C technology (via PhoneArena), as
expected, the low cost iPhone might not
be a budget device though it will be
priced relatively less compared to the
iPhone 5.