Just when we’ve published an interview with UIQ Technology’s Sébastien Peirone, they’ve got acquired by their biggest licensee, Sony Ericsson.
The UIQ Technology AB is a Swedish software company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Symbian Ltd., which licenses the UIQ user interface and application development platform to mobile phone manufacturers.
At present, Sony Ericsson is the only company that uses the UIQ 3 user interface on its smartphones. So, this move should mean one thing – we can expect more UIQ 3-based smartphones coming from Sony Ericsson in the future. 3GSM is coming, so stay tuned.
On the other hand, it’s hard to tell what this means for the UIQ. I could speculate that other companies will not want to license an interface from another phone maker. However, we’ve already seen Samsung and LG Electronics doing so with their SGH-i520 and JoY models. I’ll keep my eye on the subject, and will keep you posted…
The transaction is expected to be completed over the next few months, pending regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.