Indonesians Queue Overnight for Samsung Galaxy Tab Launch

Indonesia is not the most cutting-edge country in Asia when it comes to electronic gadgets. But that does not mean that the public is not enthused about them.

Last weekend Samsung officially launched its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Indonesia. Enthused consumers were queueing up in front of Pacific Place Mall as early as Friday night to be among the first to own the Galaxy tablet. When the Samsung store opened at 9am, 1,000 queuing tickets sold out instantly and buyers were still coming until the store ran out of their first 1,200 units in the afternoon.

Indonesians Queue Overnight for Samsung Galaxy Launch

The Galaxy Tab was sold for only US$595 for that day, with additional discounts for the first 200 buyers. The normal price is around $714. When it was first introduced last month, an Indonesian businessman bought the tablet for $9,643 in a charity auction.

For most Indonesians, its always a personal satisfaction to own the latest gadget, and this feeling can sometimes overpower considerations of functionality and price. RIM achieved great success with BlackBerry when the device was first released in Indonesia seven years ago. Until now, BlackBerry is still the favorite communication tool among other smartphone users, practically becoming part of their lifestyle, especially in big cities.

Fortunately the public enthusiasm for latest gadgets is not merely self-indulgent, but it is interconnected to a greater trend in the nation. Through these gadgets, Indonesians develop their social networks, and become more tech savvy. In turn, local application developers will multiply, start-up companies will grow, which leads to better grow for the nation. Hopefully, more electronic companies like Samsung will come to see Indonesia as an important market for their new products in the near future.

Catch the Galaxy Tab product video below. It will bring you smile, especially to those who are owners of an iPad.

[Source: Kompas]