Technology
Samjiyon tablet sells for $546 in Ebay auction
Nov 21st
A North Korean Samjiyon (삼지연) tablet computer sold for the impressive price of $546 on Ebay.
The tablet first appeared on the site on November 7 with an opening bid of $4.15 — a likely reference to the April 15 birthday of Kim Il Sung — and attracted 53 bids over 10 days.
The Samjiyon, which appears to be available in several versions, has been reportedly sold to tourists for between $200 and $250, so the Ebay price represents somewhere between a doubling and tripling of the selling price.
The buyer isn’t identified but the seller is listed on Ebay by his or her More >
Did North Korea pirate Angry Birds?
Nov 11th
One of the surprises in North Korea’s recently-launched Samjiyon (삼지연) tablet was the inclusion of Angry Birds, the globally-popular game that involves shooting animated birds to destroy structures and animated pigs.
In July, when I was reviewing the Samjiyon, I contacted game-maker Rovio to ask about its inclusion in the device. Despite several attempts to get comment, the company never replied.
Last week, The Washington Post managed to have a bit more luck.
A spokesman for the developer said via e-mail: “Angry Birds Rio has not been localized into Korean, and Rovio Entertainment has no affiliation with the version of the game being shown on the Samjiyon More >
Samjiyon tablet appears on Ebay
Nov 10th
A model of North Korea’s Samjiyon (삼지연) tablet is up for sale on Ebay.
It appeared on the morning on Thursday, November 7, and appears to have been listed by a Canadian account with a shipping location of Yanji in China. Yanji sits just across the border from North Korea.
Its appearance followed a second-round of publicity for the Samjiyon that coincided with a review published by 38 North.
The Android-based tablet debuted at an opening bid of $4.15 — a possible reference to April 15, the “Day of the Sun” holiday that marks Kim Il Sung’s birthday — and its price has been More >
Autumn trade fair begins in Pyongyang
Sep 24th
The second of Pyongyang’s two annual international trade fairs opened on Monday.
The Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair is scheduled to run until Thursday and has attracted companies from Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, Italy, China, Cuba, Turkey and Taiwan, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
In previous years, the fair has been the launching point for new tablet computers. Nothing was mentioned about new computers in Monday’s local press coverage, although Monday’s main evening news bulletin on Korea Central Television (below) did show again the Samjiyon tablet computer
You can find a full review of the Samjiyon tablet here, and details of its More >
Exclusive: North Korea’s Samjiyon tablet — Made in China?
Aug 4th
One of the most interesting questions surrounding North Korea’s Samjiyon tablet is its source. State media reports not withstanding, the tablet is almost certainly not made in North Korea — the country just doesn’t have the electronics manufacturing capability to design products like tablet computers from the components up.
And anyway, why bother? Companies in Taiwan and China offer many finished tablet designs that are widely used, even by well-known western brand names, so why go through the work and expense of designing something from scratch?
North Korea’s IT expertise is in software and that’s where the Samjiyon is very North Korean. There More >
Review: Samjiyon tablet
Aug 1st
North Korea, like the rest of the world, is getting hooked on tablet computers. In the last year, state media has highlighted three different tablet computers that are now, according to the reports, available in the country.
The latest of these, the Samjiyon (삼지연), is also on sale to foreigners and one of the tablets was recently purchased by a tech-savvy tourist. The tourist, Michael, doesn’t want to use his surname, but I’ve spoken extensively with him via e-mail, phone and Skype video chat about the tablet and how it performs.
The Samjiyon first appeared to the world at the 8th Pyongyang Autumn International Trade More >
Ham radio operators hope to put North Korea on the air
Jun 11th
A group of amateur radio operators are hoping to get permission from the North Korean government for a month-long trip to the country during which they’ll set up a ham radio operation.
If they manage to pull off the plan, they’ll have succeeded where few have before.
North Korea has no amateur radio operators and government-sanctioned transmissions by foreigners in the country are extremely rare. This makes North Korea the rarest country for contacts in the amateur radio world.
The project is still in the planning phase but is being led by operators with experience of both North Korea and operating in usually closed countries. More >
North Korea’s Android-based Achim tablet on video
Jun 4th
North Korea’s Achim (Morning) tablet PC will soon become a year old. The tablet, which runs the Android operating system, was first unveiled in July 2012 as a computer to help education.
It was the second tablet PC unveiled by the country. The first came from the Korea Computer Center and a third, called Samjiyon, was unveiled later in the year.
Since it has appeared, the DPRK’s state media has carried several stories about the success of the Achim tablet PC in the teaching and learning markets. It’s said to contain reference books, foreign-language dictionaries and scientific data. KCNA reported it weighs about More >
Spring Trade Fair wraps up
May 21st
The 16th Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair wrapped up at the end of last week. I‘ve taken a look through some of the footage from Korean national television and KCNA and spotted a few companies that were exhibiting.
At last year’s trade fair, the Korea Computer Center debuted a new tablet PC. This year didn’t see any major launches of new IT equipment, at least according to the media coverage, but there were tablet computers on show.
One of the companies highlighted in the national TV coverage was Achim Panda Computer JV, also known as Morning Panda Computer. The company was established More >
Father, son indicted on exports of banned machinery to DPRK
May 7th
U.S. prosecutors have indicted a Taiwanese father and son on charges related to the supply of machinery to North Korea that could be used in the production of weapons of mass destruction.
Hsien Tai “Alex” Tsai, 67, and his son, Yueh Hsun “Gary” Tsai, 36, were charged during a Monday afternoon hearing at federal court in Chicago. Both were arrested last week.
Alex Tsai was picked up in Estonia, where he remains in custody awaiting extradition to the U.S., and Gary Tsai was arrested at his home in Glenview, Illinios. Gary Tsai is a legal permanent resident of the U.S.
In two almost More >
