Motorola, Sony Ericsson to Push Open Phone OS

Although its RAZR handsets set a new standard in mobile phone design and sold tens of millions of units, Motorola's dirty little secret is beginning to impact sales: its horrible phone user interface. The company is now endeavoring to resolve this by partnering with Sony Ericsson on building an open platform for phones.

Motorola has agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in UI Holdings BV, the parent company of UIQ Technology AB, which is owned by Sony Ericsson. UIQ makes a phone interface platform based on Symbian utilized in many Sony Ericsson phones, but thus far it has failed to catch on with developers like Nokia's own Symbian-based Series60 and Microsoft's Windows Mobile.

UIQ actually offered the first touch-screen user interface for phones back in 2002, although few consumers and developers know this. The OS additionally supports a wide range of input methods, including the finger-touch technology found in Apple's iPhone. With Motorola's backing UIQ could finally make its way out of obscurity.

As part of the deal to form the joint venture, both companies agreed to make UIQ vendor and chipset independent. In addition, the UIQ platform will be licensed on equal terms to all interested mobile device makers.

"This is an important transaction that demonstrates the increasing importance of open operating systems for all handset vendors. By working together in a strong, mutually beneficial partnership, hand-set vendors can reduce development costs and help operators launch more consistent services with greater efficiency," remarked Miles Flint, President of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.

As for Motorola, the company says its "investment in UIQ will enable us to bring featurecompetitive multimedia devices to market." UIQ's platform is currently used in Motorola's MOTO Z8 handset.

The companies hope to further bolster support in UIQ by expanding ownership to other licensees, although named no specific partners.