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New Tablet Appears in North Korea, Is Pretty Good

The DPRK's new tablet is better than you'd think, but still has no internet.

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Dear Leader has procured Angry Birds for his people.

Last week, a tourist managed to get a glimpse at a North Korean tablet, and its specs are surprisingly decent for a gadget on sale in a country that won't let its citizens use the real Internet.

You're never going to see the Samjiyon (삼지연) tablet on sale at Walmart or Best Buy, but its mere existence is interesting. It's made from outdated parts and software, but we're not talking outdated by decades—much of its hardware is only outdated by a year—and that's worthy of note.

It sports 1026 x 768-pixel 7-inch screen, with a 1.2GHz processor, 1GB DDR3 RAM and either 8 or 16GB of hard drive space. That should be plenty of space, since the slate can't even connect to the Internet, let alone download any content. The tablet also has a 2MP camera. The tablet can also pick up four over-the-air TV channels using its VHF/UHF antenna.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 has a huge leg up by oh, I don't know, being able to connect to the internet.

Specs don't tell the whole story, though, since the whole "not having internet" thing can't be ignored. Still, the tablet itself is notable in that it may not be the worst tablet out there. It even comes pre-loaded with Angry Birds Rio, among other games (plus propaganda ebooks).

Compared to a tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, the specs are neck-and-neck, except for that pesky Internet thing. Will we ever see a tablet out of North Korea that gives market leaders a run for their money? For now, all we can know is that Angry Birds transcends even the most-guarded national boundaries.

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