With the UIQ codebase integrated into the SymbianSymbian OS holdings Foundation’s comprehensive , UIQ’s future as a stand-alone mobile operating system is bleak. And, with news today that UIQ, which is jointly owned by Sony Ericsson and Motorola, has filed for bankruptcy, the UIQ platform is all but dead.
We’ve been expecting UIQ to slowly become phased out of the mobile space, but the bankruptcy filing is a bit of a surprise. “There are no opportunities to create a new line of business in the current financial climate,” UIQ Chief Executive Johan Sandberg told Reuters.
With the Symbian Foundation promising an open-source environment for the Symbian ecosystem, UIQ is now a thing of the past. UIQ employees have been warned of impending layoffs and we’d imagine that the company is gearing up to liquidate anything that’s not bolted down (and possibly even stuff that is bolted down).
The company’s insolvency announcement puts the final nail in the coffins of many UIQ-based handsets that were rumored to be in development. Unfortunately, that likely also means that Motorola’s investment in UIQ is a red-stain on Moto’s balance sheet.
[Via: Reuters]