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.

Fingerprint recognition promised for Android devices, due in six months

While fingerprint scanners had not hit
mainstream devices at a major level till
Apple decided to include it with the
latest-generation iPhone, the iPhone 5s
calling it Touch ID, it looks like the
Android device bandwagon will also get
its own version of the technology in six
months, if a new report is to be
believed.

The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online)
Alliance a group of 48 technology
companies, which was founded by the
likes of Lenovo and PayPal is working
on a new technical standard for
biometric fingerprint scanners to be
featured on Android smartphones.
In an interview with USA Today,
Michael Barrett, president of the FIDO
Alliance has said that the initial FIDO-
equipped Android devices, will roll out in
early 2014 along with services that use
the FIDO protocols.

"The intention of FIDO is absolutely
that it will allow consumers to have
access to mobile services that they can
use with very low friction, while keeping
good security," said Barrett.
It's not clear as to which device
makers and services would choose to
include FIDO but prominent members of
the alliance include LG, BlackBerry,
Google, Lenovo and PayPal. So it's
likely that these players choose to
integrate the standard with their
devices and services.

It's worth pointing out that Apple's
Touch ID fingerprint sensor is not
FIDO-compliant but Barrett informed
that Touch ID could easily be adapted
to FIDO but it will take a couple of
years.
According to its website, the FIDO
Alliance aims to develop specifications
that define an open, scalable,
interoperable set of mechanisms that
supplant reliance on passwords to
securely authenticate users of online
services. It essentially wants to build a
ubiquitous biometric standard that
works across different devices and
online services that require
authentication.
It's worth mentioning that Apple's
Touch ID allows users to unlock the
phone, by simply placing a finger on
the Home button. It can also be used
to confirm purchases made on the App
Store, iBookstore or the iTunes Store.