This is how Nokia and Telkomsel promote the 41MP Lumia 1020, by showcasing photos taken with the 1020 in collages limited to the tiny confines of Instagram instead of using something like 500px or Flickr that displays pictures as large as your screen can handle.

They probably are doing something on Facebook which would be a better way for a photography showcase if done correctly but with this collage approach, you can do the same with any cheap mobile phone camera. They won’t be able to see the details and appreciate the quality anyway.

Way to undermine the results of what is supposedly the greatest mobile phone camera ever made. Good job guys. – View on Path.

Telkomsel and XL Axiata begin selling iPhone 4S in Indonesia today

Today Indonesia’s Telkomsel and XL Axiata will begin selling the iPhone 4S. In a departure from past pricing plans, this time each telco has markedly distinct packages and even different pre-paid costs. Additionally, there is approximately a 10% increase over the cost of past iPhones while in the US it has remain the same since 2008 for every iPhone model.

Previously outright cost of iPhone 4 used to be Rp 7 million and Rp 8.2 million for the 16 GB and 32 GB respectively. The iPhone 4S now start from Rp 7.7 million for the 16 GB all the way to Rp 10.3 million for the 64 GB.

The 4S being released in January may seem a little late compared to the December release of the iPhone 4 in 2010 but one needs to remember that it wasn’t until mid October last year that Apple began selling the 4S in the US, so now Indonesia is only four months behind instead of six or more. The 3G was released in March 2009 and the 3GS in February 2010.

As for the pricing plans, here are the packages from Telkomsel. The lack of contract plans in Indonesia means buyers are given the choice of 12 month credit card installments or full price purchase.

The included free calls and SMS are intra-network only, meaning they apply only within the same network, not to numbers from other mobile network providers as per local regulations.

It’s very likely that as it had been in the past, post-paid packages are valid for pre-approved customers only as new Telkomsel iPhone customers are generally directed towards pre-paid options.

Pre-paid customers have a new daily plan to choose from which limits them to 60 MB data consumption per day. Previously all packages had been monthly.

XL Axiata’s iPhone plans are different as well this year. In addition to the three 12-month credit card installment plans and the option for outright purchase, the blue network now offers six-month credit card installment plans for pre-paid customers. The total costs of the pre-paid installment plans differ very slightly from the full up-front purchase price which makes it quite an attractive option.

At the conclusion of the installment period, customers are enrolled automatically to a 1.2 GB monthly data package with the standard call and text rates. Excess call/text/data are charged at prevailing rates.

[update] 

Forgot to include pre-paid costs for iPhone 4S on XL Axiata. They are 16GB Rp 7,999,000; 32GB Rp 9,199,000; 64GB Rp 10,399,000

Personal hotspot use is included in the data packages of both Telkomsel and XL Axiata.

Telkomsel does not bundle voice/text/data packages for its pre-paid plans while XL Axiata does.

iPhone 4S coming to Indonesia’s Telkomsel January 27

Today Telkomsel revealed on its website that it will be bringing iPhone 4S to Indonesia on January 27. While the release seems rather late, it’s worth noting that the 4S did not make its world debut in the US until mid October, much later than in previous years in which Apple launched its new iPhone models in the middle of the northern summer.

Indonesia’s release dates of the iPhones had been erratic with the 3G model being released in March 2008, the 3GS in February 2009, and the iPhone 4 in December 2010. There were rumors that Indonesia was supposed to have been part of the mid-December roll out along with Malaysia, Thailand, and the rest of Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, the 4S is ready to roll now for an end of January launch.

Apple supposedly scheduled for a complete iPhone 4S roll out by the end of 2011 but apparently negotiations with some carriers in parts of the world took longer than expected and we ended up with January releases for a number of countries.

At this moment, there is no word on pricing and there is no indication of pre-orders. In the past, pre-order numbers for Telkomsel had been very misleading as it involved no commitment from the consumers and the actual sales number of the launch weekend never reached pre-order levels.

The other Indonesian carrier for iPhone, XL Axiata, has yet to reveal its plans.

The timing will be very close to the Indonesian launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus on January 21, which is two days from now, and ahead of the still rumored launch date of the Lumia series from Nokia, set for mid February.

PS: What about Siri? Well, it won’t be fully operational. Any location-based queries simply won’t work in Indonesia, or across Asia for that matter. Most of it would be there, but if you ask Siri anything to do with location, such as asking for the nearest sushi bar, you won’t get anything.