Koprol could cut distribution deal with Nexian
If the rumblings are to be believed, the hottest former startup in Indonesia is set to sign a distribution deal with the country’s top handset brand.
In the past few months representatives from Koprol and Nexian have been spotted meeting in various locations — even as recently as last week at the Indonesia Cellular Show in Jakarta. Sources at Nexian say meetings with Koprol have taken place. Whether the meetings were centred on a distribution deal, however, could not be confirmed.
Koprol, a location-based social network based in Indonesia, is still on everyone’s lips following its acquisition by Yahoo! in May. It seems that Nexian is moving quickly to take advantage of the local aspect of its own and Koprol’s brands.
At the moment Nexian is second only to Nokia in terms of mobile phone sales in Indonesia thanks to its low to mid-end strategy. They have just released their first Android phone at ICS, the Nexian Journey, and even then the phone is aimed at the burgeoning mid-end market, priced at USD330.
It would be quite a big step for Koprol if it were to develop an app to be bundled into every Nexian phone. Koprol currently has a free app for BlackBerry devices but its service is available only from the web browser on all other phones.
As for Nexian, having Koprol as a partner would provide even more leverage over its local and international competitors. Nexian phones already come pre-loaded with a Nexian messenger app, which is similar to BlackBerry’s Messernger, which is pre-loaded on all its devices. If Nexian had a location-based service coupled to complement its messaging platform, the resulting hybrid could create a compelling application.
Also see:
The Journey of Koprol – How it all Began
Koprol Leading the Location Based Social Networking Wave in Asia?
tagged
