Android Tablet Gives Rare Glimpse At North Korean Tech 125
alphadogg writes "An Android tablet brought back from North Korea by a tourist has provided a glimpse at some of the restrictions placed on IT users in the famously secretive country. The Samjiyon is the third tablet to have gone on sale in North Korea. It was unveiled at a trade show in the capital, Pyongyang, last September and received some coverage on state television, but few westerners have had a chance to see it up close. The tablet was likely manufactured outside of North Korea and the hardware itself is fairly unremarkable, but the software and the usage restrictions placed on the device provide some insights about life in the country."
Oh goody a preview of the future! (Score:4, Interesting)
Given the war on general purpose computing [boingboing.net] , North Korea is far ahead of us technologically. We won't get this level of responsible computing for at least a few more years.
Re:When you turn it on... (Score:3, Interesting)
I wonder how many North Koreans could even afford such a device.
Probably a lot more than you think. Try this: Use Google maps to look at Seoul, South Korea. Put it in "satellite" mode. Now pan north about thirty miles. You will see a very green strip of land devoid of any human features. That is the DMZ. Keep going north. You will soon see lots of signs of human activity again. You are now looking at North Korea. Now zoom in. You will see roads. Paved roads. With cars on them. You will see houses, not as big as in the south, but not shacks either. You will see shopping centers, with parking lots full of cars. But wait ... didn't your government tell you that North Korea was a dirt poor economic basket case? What is going on? Either North Korea really isn't as poor as you were told, or else PDRK agents have infiltrated Google and replaced 120,000 sq km of satellite photos. You decide.
Re:Lame summary (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:When you turn it on... (Score:5, Interesting)
Parking lots for of cars? According to this several year old article, there's less than 30,000 cars for a country of 24m people. DFW airport has approximately enough parking for all of NK's vehicles.
Regardless, a $200 LCD screen that is useless for the average citizen seem to be an expensive luxury item where a car, if they somehow got permission to own one, may be necessary just to get around. How many people in the US or Europe have a vehicle but don't have a tablet?
Re:TV (Score:5, Interesting)
I've never heard of an integrated TV tuner in a tablet.
When I was in Seoul a few months ago I was surprised to learn that almost all smartphones in Korea include a integrated TV turner, complete with antenna. You could see all these people commuting on the train watching broadcast TV - Even on flip-phones.
http://modernseoul.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/south-korea-vs-qatar-cell-phone-tv.jpg [wordpress.com]
Re:When you turn it on... (Score:3, Interesting)
The nation is falling a part, and so is their military hardware.
Do you have any evidence to support this assertion? Or are you just parroting what your government told you to believe?
I have no first hand knowledge of North Korea (and I doubt you do either). But I grew up in America and heard lots of stories about the terrible conditions in Communist China. Then I went to China. I lived there for years, made dozens of friends, married a Chinese woman, started a family, started a business. It was absolutely nothing like what I was told. So I am extremely skeptical when the US government tries to shovel propaganda in my direction. Especially when there is objective evidence, such as satellite photos, that contradict the official party line.