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The UIQ interface, like S60 from Nokia, runs on top of the Symbian operating system (OS). To use a housing metaphor, Symbian is the foundation, plumbing, and electrical system; the interface (UIQ or S60) is the furnishings and appliances; and the hardware is the frame upon which a smartphone is built.

Sony Ericsson, the chief licensee of the interface, acquired UIQ Technology (the company that developers it) a little over a month ago. Sony Ericsson has built the majority of UIQ-based smartphones on the market, while Motorola and Arima are the companies mostly responsible for the rest.

By gaining control of UIQ, which Sony Ericsson will still make openly available to other vendors - just as S60 is – the company will have a much larger say over the direction of the platform. As a subsidiary, UIQ Technology continues to operate independently.

Although the S60 is by far more popular, the UIQ interface has some advantages over its rival: One of the most important, to many consumers and (obviously) Sony Ericsson, is its support for touch screens. UIQ 3, however, does allow smartphone makers to create one create devices without touch screens with one-handed navigation in mind as well. None have taken advantage of this capability yet.