Mobile Experience Asia: Indonesians Love Nokia E Series Communicator

Indonesians love Nokia phones and SMS. Their weapon of choice is the Nokia E Series (e90 and its predecessors) which gives them full QWERTY goodness to keep in touch with peers.

In a typical day, I’ll walk into a local coffee shop and see at least a dozen of people with some form of Nokia E Series phone; many are busy with the screen flipped open either surfing the web or texting. The visual is quite funny, as some of the older E Series phones are about as big as an 80’s cordless telephone and they keep it in a holder that straps onto their waist or pant pocket. These Indonesians don’t just buy their phones for show; they actually use them to its full extent. I’ve seen various profiles (young men to older housewives) focusing on operating their smartphones to the max.

I always knew Nokia has a bigger market presence outside the US; this trip visiting various parts of Asia allowed me to see their market penetration in person.

PS – After spending some more time playing with my Father-in-law’s Nokia E90; I am starting to fall in love with it. Although bulky, once you flip open the gorgeous 800 pixel widescreen; you’ll enjoy its “laptop-like” essence especially with full QWERTY.