When a single manufacturer accounts for an overwhelming majority of your license revenue, it stands to reason that said manufacturer might save a little dough in the long haul by acquiring you outright. And so it goes for the long, passionate relationship between UIQ and licensee Sony Ericsson; of the 13 handsets running the Symbian-based platform, nearly half -- six in all -- have been designed and produced by Sony Ericsson, with the remainder split between Motorola and Arima units that haven't seen been met with nearly as much publicity. The Swedish company, currently owned by Symbian itself, will be transferred to Sony Ericsson (pending clearance of the typical bureaucratic stuff, of course) for an undisclosed sum but will continue to operate as an independent entity with the current management team in place. Though UIQ promises that its platform will continue to be available "on equal terms to all its licensees," the move makes official what's been known for years: that UIQ is to Sony Ericsson what S60 is to Nokia, an interpretation of the Symbian smartphone operating system to call its own. Will UIQ ever match S60's popularity, particularly in the Symbian-friendly European market? Probably not, but with a committed partner now laying out the requisite cash, it does seem more likely than ever that UIQ's here to stay -- and as always, we're all about choice.

[Via All About Symbian]

Now that Motorola's back to its old industry-dominating self, it sounds like an acquisition or two might be in order. Ron Garriques, head of Moto's Mobile Devices division, apparently mentioned in an interview that the company has a "serious interest" in scooping up Sagem from current parent SAFRAN Group. As expected, the comment has put both SAFRAN and Motorola in damage-control mode, with Motorola France insisting that Garriques' comment has no bearing on the company's plans and SAFRAN noting that they're still exploring all their options for flipping Sagem, which has had a for-sale sign around its neck since September. If the sale were to materialize it probably wouldn't mean much this side of the Atlantic, but it'd give Motorola a significantly expanded presence in Europe where France-based Sagem does the lion's share of its business. More importantly, though, it'd mark the union of two of the more unusual marketing schemes in the industry: Sagem's "my"-everything and Motorola's MOTOBRNDs. Who wouldn't want a myMOTOKRZR?