Ease of use sometimes means nothing to a first time user

My brother, who lives in the US, just got a new non-Nokia phone. So, I started playing with it to check out the browsing and messaging experience. Of course, many years of using the Nokia UIs made it difficult for me to use my brother's phone. And really, there were some dumb usability mistakes.

My niece (10 years old), saw me playing and I showed her how to send her first SMS using her dad's phone. I walked her through the (to me) awkward process and she was delighted when my mother's phone beeped.

Thinking I was going to show her how to really send an SMS, I then showed her how to send and SMS on my mother's Nokia phone.

That's when it hit: The Nokia UI is not necessarily easier for a first time user. It felt almost as awkward showing her how to send her SMS from my mom's Nokia phone than it was from my brother's non-Nokia phone.

I still will say that for regular users, the Nokia UI in this case is far superior and generous for sending SMSs - and operator SMS revenues from Nokia phones proves it. But the first time user has no usage model that maps onto the phone, so it's all confusing no matter what.

Interesting, no?

What does that say for the hurdle of first few uses restricting uptake of a service or product? I've seen it happen with other products as well - you need to get over a small hump before the user has the 'Aha!' and starts avidly using the product.

How should one design a product to minimize the barrier to first-time use?