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UIQ boss hints at move into Japan with new OS9 phones

UIQ and Nokia variants of Symbian are being drawn together as each starts to offer features the other already has - but there is still enough distinction between them, thinks UIQ boss Johan Sandberg, to give his company a chance to break into the Japanese market.

According to an interview in Computer Business Review, Sandberg believes he will see UIQ on Japanese phones before the end of the year, including a FOMA variant for DoCoMo.

The interview focuses on the rivalry between Nokia series 60, and the UIQ (mainly from Ericsson) but quotes Sandberg as saying that he expects to be able to announce new licensees before the end of the year, using UIQ version 3.0.

Although the author of the story has picked up on the news that UIQ is moving into smaller, more "phone-like" phones without pen input, the message behind Sandberg's words may be more complex. See "Landscape phones mark the resurgence of the PDA smartphone" analysis.