Probably a touch of formality after completing their accquisition, but Sony Ericsson have confirmed that UIQ is still being licenced to other manufacturers if they so wish. In addition to this they're also inviting other phone vendors to become share holders in UIQ (which is currently 100% owned by Sony Ericsson). An interesting move, but will anyone take them up on it?
Encouraging other shareholders is a big move, in some ways it echoes the Symbian model where all the interested parties can take a stake in their future. It certainly provides a good reason for other manufacturers to choose UIQ over the wholly Nokia controlled S60.
The features of the MotoRIZR Z8 appears to suggest that UIQ3.1 can match S60 v3 on many technical fronts. But, there needs to be many similar models from Sony Ericsson (and others?) before UIQ is going to be a serious competitor to S60 on the commercial front.
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