Arirang (smartphone)

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Arirang refers to smartphones from the North Korean mobile operator Koryolink . They were named after the Korean folk song Arirang .

Arirang AS1201

On August 11, 2013, North Korea introduced the Arirang AS1201. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the mobile phone has a touch screen and a "high resolution" camera. The smartphone has a slightly modified version of Android 4.0.4, the operating system from Google . The device appeared in black, white, yellow and pink and includes some apps that were developed in North Korea.

According to North Korean information, the smartphones will be manufactured in the “May 11th Factory” in Pyongyang . Kim Jong-un , the Supreme Leader of North Korea, expressed his enthusiasm and support for the smartphone during a visit to the factory. He believes it will boost the country's economy and "instill national pride and self-respect" in the Korean people. Pictures taken during the visit show North Korean workers inspecting, testing, or packing the finished smartphone. No workers involved in the production can be seen. North Korea analyst Martyn Williams thinks it is more likely that the smartphones will be made in China and then brought undercover across the border. In April 2014 it became clear that the Arirang AS1201 was a copy or a renamed version of the Chinese smartphone Uniscope U1201.

Arirang AP121

The Arirang AP121 has version 4.2.1 of the Android operating system. August 27, 2014 is given as the creation date of the operating system. The AP121 seems to be very similar to the THL W200 from the Chinese manufacturer Shenzhen Hongjiayuan Communication Technology .

Arirang 151

The Arirang 151 runs on a heavily modified version of Android 4.4.2, which was created in September 2016. The device has a camera, Bluetooth , 3G, 4 gigabytes of internal memory, a microSD input and a micro SIM card slot. The smartphone is not WiFi compatible. In addition to a 500 MB promo video, the phone has many preinstalled apps , mainly games like Super Mario , Plants vs Zombies , Angry Birds and Cut the Rope . A fitness tracker app from Huawei is also available. There is also an application called "AppLock" on the cell phone, which is supposed to enable certain applications, contacts and messages to be blocked using a four-digit code. The Danish developer Christian Budde Christensen doubts the effectiveness of such an application and believes it is likely that the application is used to give the user a false sense of privacy and security.

According to Christian Budde Christensen, the cell phone prevents the exchange of data with other devices. For example, no data can be transferred with a Bluetooth connection to a computer. In addition, the mobile phone is automatically shut down when a SIM card is inserted. Data can be successfully transferred to another device via a USB connection, but the reverse is not completely possible, as the transferred files are deleted from the mobile phone when opened. Christensen doesn't believe the hardware was made in North Korea, but suspects that the modifications were made by North Korean programmers.

Arirang 161

On September 16, 2017, the state news website DPRKToday.com presented the “fingerprint smartphone” Arirang 161. According to their information, the Arirang 161 has an internal memory of 32 gigabytes and a 4.7 inch display, which probably has a maximum HD resolution of 1280 × 720 pixels. A big innovation of the Arirang 161 is the integrated fingerprint scanner , which enables quick access to the device. The device is particularly comfortable to hold because the device has a rounded back. The sales price was the equivalent of 220 euros.

Arirang 171

In March 2018, DPRKToday.com introduced the Arirang 171. The smartphone runs on Android 7.1.1 "Nougat" and has a 10-core processor from Taiwanese MediaTek . It has a 5.5 inch LCD display with a resolution of 1,920 × 1,080, 32 gigabytes of memory and 4 gigabytes of RAM. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front camera. It is a variant of the Ulefone Gemini Pro.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Martyn Williams: Kim Jong Un visits 'cell phone factory'. In: North Korea Tech. August 12, 2013, accessed February 7, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b Roland Quandt: North Korea "builds" its first smartphone. In: WinFuture. August 13, 2013, accessed February 7, 2018 .
  3. ↑ tmrkztr: koryolink Arirang AS1201 (North Korea's Smartphone) - Review. In: YouTube . March 3, 2014, accessed February 7, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Markus Sulzbacher: North Korea presents the Android smartphone "Arirang". In: The Standard . August 12, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Max Fisher: Kim Jong Un inspects North Korea's first smartphone, an Android clone. In: The Washington Post . August 12, 2013, accessed February 7, 2018 .
  6. ^ Nate Hoffelder: North Korea's Smartphone Revealed as a Chinese Clone. In: The Digital Reader. April 7, 2014, accessed February 7, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Martyn Williams: New Arirang smartphone caught on camera. In: North Korea Tech. November 25, 2014, accessed February 7, 2018 .
  8. ↑ C. Low: Arirang 151: a North Korean smartphone on Android, it looks like what? In: TechGIndia. January 11, 2018, accessed February 7, 2018 .
  9. ^ Christian Budde Christensen: How to be smart in North Korea. In: Hacker Noon. January 9, 2018, accessed February 7, 2018 .
  10. ↑ 새형 의 지문 손 전화기. In: DPRKToday.com. September 16, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2018 (Korean).
  11. ↑ Roland Quandt: Arirang 161: North Korea gets a new state smartphone with Android. In: WinFuture. September 20, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Roland Quandt: North Korea: Chinese iPhone clone becomes the new state smartphone. In: WinFuture. March 19, 2018, accessed March 24, 2018 .