Sony Ericsson has agreed in principle to acquire UIQ, the Swedish Symbian-subsidiary that produces the user interface for the handset manufacturer’s high-end smartphones, with the deal expected to be completed within the next few months. Apparently UIQ was started by Ericsson Mobile Communications in 1998 and became part of Symbian in 1999, but Sony Ericsson is the largest licensor of the OS system (eg, on the P990, M600 and W950 handsets). “Most of the investors in Symbian must have been fairly down on subsidising Sony Ericsson’s software development,” suggested analyst Dean Bubley, of Disruptive Analysis, on Tuesday. “Motorola is not using it any more — essentially, the Sony Ericsson smartphone platform was being paid for by Symbian.”
Bubley goes on to suggest that Sony Ericsson might be keen to make the UIQ OS their equivalent of the Series 60, and angle to get it a seat at the operator’s preferred OS table. There’s probably still room at Vodafone.