Hasta La Gadget!

North Korea likes to say that it’s on the cutting edge, even if it usually isn’t — and that now includes a locally-built smartphone, the AS1201 Arirang. We don’t know much about the Android handset, but state media claims that it’s made in Pyongyang and ships with a domestically produced app. As you’d imagine, many outside of North Korea are skeptical of the AS1201’s supposed roots. While it’s difficult to verify North Korea Tech‘s suspicions that a Chinese firm makes the device on North Korea’s behalf, the hardware is using stock Android — you know, the OS designed by those “capitalist American pig-dogs” at Google. There’s also the question of the device’s real-world usefulness. As long as North Korea bans mobile internet use, the Ariang won’t be much more capable than your typical feature phone.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: Android Central

Source: North Korea Tech, DailyNK

This week, tourists (and at least one reporter) visiting North Korea began accessing the web directly from their smartphones, through the country’s Koryolink 3G network. Associated Press journalist Jean H. Lee has been tweeting from Pyongyang since Monday, though she didn’t get around to detailing the service until yesterday. Her tweet, “Hello world from comms center in #Pyongyang,” is believed to be the first to come through the new wireless data service, which can be activated for the princely sum of €75 (about $100). From there, data rates range from €150 for 2GB to €400 for 10 gigs, according to a DailyNK report. (Those tariffs should come as no surprise to DPRK visitors, who often shell out thousands for week-long tours that include meager accommodations and constant monitoring.)

The Koryolink network, which was built in cooperation with Egypt’s Orascom Telecom, marks a radical shift in policy for North Korea, which also recently began to allow tourists to enter the country with their own cellphones — previously, visitors were required to hand over the devices upon landing in Pyongyang. With the exception of approved users (certain government officials, we presume), North Korean residents remain offline, however. For those authorized, access may be pricey, but considering that connectivity can provide peace of mind to travelers and their families at home, a data-enabled SIM seems a worthwhile acquisition for anyone visiting one of 3G’s famous final frontiers.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Internet, Mobile

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Source: AP, DailyNK, Jean H. Lee (Instagram)

North Korea has yet to welcome the internet with open arms despite Eric Schmidt’s visit, but the internet is certainly welcoming North Korea: as of a sweeping update, Google Maps touts detailed cartography of the secluded state rather than the voids we’ve known before. The results still leave significant blank spots, although that’s forgivable when Google Map Maker is virtually the only option to improve accuracy. We doubt a suspicious government is about to let Street View cars run freely on Pyongyang’s streets when visitors can’t even get mobile internet access, after all. Google already plans to patch those holes in a timelier fashion by incorporating future Map Maker changes as soon as they’re proven accurate. While many of those covered by the update might never see it for themselves, Google’s work at least paints a more complete picture of the world for the rest of us.

Filed under: GPS, Internet, Google

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Google Lat Long Blog

Speaking to reporters in Beijing airport after his trip to Pyongyang, Google’s Eric Schmidt has expressed bewilderment at the fact that North Korean citizens still aren’t hooked up to the web. He pointed out that the government could retool its 3G mobile network to provide access to the outside world and said “it would be very easy for them to turn that on.” Then he flew home.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Source: Bloomberg