UIQ 3 is maturing fast. The platform took a major step forward during June and July 2006 as the first, eagerly anticipated UIQ 3-based phones are now on the market: the Sony Ericsson P990 and M600. The "wait and see" phase is over. Here are five reasons why developing for Sony Ericsson's UIQ 3-based phones is a smart business move.

In July 2006, M:Metrics, who measure the audience for mobile media, reported that large percentages of smartphone end-users who consume mobile content are not just using productivity applications but are increasingly using their powerful phones to view video, play mobile games, listen to music, send e-mail and access the web. With research firms such as Canalys seeing a continuing shift toward converged, smart mobile devices in which Symbian is the leading OS and Gartner reporting that mobile e-mail use is increasing by moving from the business user to the more mainstream consumer market, the argument for developing applications for mobile phones that support these market trends is clear. And this is where the three Sony Ericsson UIQ 3-based phones come in.

1. Expanding market share

Sony Ericsson has a proven history in the Symbian OS smartphone market and is now expanding the reach of the new batch of UIQ-based phones into broader market segments. Whereas previously only one Sony Ericsson smartphone was available at one time, from autumn 2006 onwards, there will be three simultaneously available: the P990, M600 and W950. And each phone is positioned in a different market sector:

	The P990 smartphone builds on Sony Ericsson's successful smartphone track record with the P800, P900 and P910 and is based on the same proven concept and form factor. Application sales trends show that Sony Ericsson P-series smartphone end-users are the most-likely Symbian OS consumer group to purchase software to add to their phones.
	The M600 messaging device offers end-users true e-mail, browsing and messaging mobility, recognizing the strong market demand for mid-range, mass-market phones with enhanced messaging capabilities.
	The W950 Walkman is the first Symbian OS-based phone in the Sony Ericsson Walkman phone range, enabling a wider market group to discover the potential of an open OS for entertainment-based rather than productivity-related applications. Three million Sony Ericsson Walkman phones were shipped during 2005, with the world's first Walkman phone, the W800, distributed in 89 countries. Sony Ericsson sees this growth continuing and now offers 10 Walkman phone model series including the W950. More information about the Walkman phone family>>

2. Compatibility reducing complexity

The Sony Ericsson P990, M600 and W950 are all UIQ 3-based phones with touchscreen UIs and although they look different from each other, most UIQ 3 applications written for one phone will run on the other two.

The UIQ 3 platform is an open software platform, based on Symbian OS v9.1, allowing developers to potentially target all UIQ 3-based phones using one single codeline. Applications will automatically receive the look and feel of the device they run on without the need to write extra code. Updates and bug fixes are identical for all target platforms, and only one code update is needed to propagate it to all UIQ 3-based phones. Developers benefit from a shorter time-to-market since code written for UIQ 3 will be identical through all handsets, unless device specific features have been used. A technical overview of the features of these three phones is presented at the end of this article.

This compatibility also holds true for Symbian Signing as signing a UIQ 3 application for the P990, M600 or W950 means that the application is automatically Signed for the other two phones as well. Sony Ericsson Developer World provides an overview of how Symbian Signing differs for UIQ 3 compared to previous platform versions, including Platform Security (PlatSec) and Developer Certificates (DevCerts) here>>

3. Compatibility reducing development costs

This compatibility of UIQ 3 applications also reduces development costs and time to market. Not just through the previously mentioned code propagation, but also through the Symbian Signing process. Symbian Signing is a requirement to be published on the Motricity powered Sony Ericsson Application Shop website. To reduce costs further and support developers to port existing applications to UIQ 3 or create new UIQ 3 titles, Motricity has teamed up with the software testing house MphasiS to offer all Sony Ericsson Application Shop/Motricity Content partners a reduced Symbian Signing price until September 30, 2006. More information on this special offer here>>

4. Dedicated developer tools and support

The new Porting to UIQ 3.0 Special Interest Paper is just one example of the support given to developers by Sony Ericsson Developer World. This porting guide provides technical guidelines, code examples and suggestions on how to successfully port applications to UIQ 3 from UIQ 2, Windows Mobile, Palm OS and other Symbian OS UI platforms.

Other UIQ 3 developer resources include:

• Phone specification white papers>>
• UIQ 3 SDK and related documentation>>
• OpenGL ES SDK>>
• Themes Creator tool supporting UIQ 3>>
• Symbian Signing and DevCert information>>
• Symbian OS and OpenGL ES discussion forums providing free technical support>>
• UIQ 3 Tips, Tricks & Code articles>>
• Latest news articles>>

As developers are getting to grips with UIQ 3, more applications are now available on the market and Sony Ericsson Developer World publishes news from partners in the form of UIQ 3 case studies, application announcements and phone articles. For example:

• DataViz brings Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync connectivity to UIQ 3 for M600 and P990>>
• Quickoffice port UIQ 2.1 app to UIQ 3 for P990 and M600 phones>>
• WebGate share UIQ 3 porting advice for P990 and M600 applications>>
• Audible ports to M600, P990 and W950 UIQ 3 mobile phones>>
• P990 Memory Stick preload application gallery>>

5. Improved route to market for UIQ 3 apps

Operator feedback and download statistics from the previous Sony Ericsson Application Shop show that end-users are interested in using their Symbian OS and UIQ-based phones to the fullest potential. Trends show that application purchase price is not an issue for end-users but value for money is. Therefore it makes good business sense to provide application types that support phone functionality and give end-users a choice of high-value products. Trends also show that new phone releases generate increased application sales, so supplying applications for the new UIQ 3-based phones now arriving on the market is a logical step.

More information:

• "New porting to UIQ 3.0 Special Interest Paper", July 2006 news article>>
• "P990, M600 and W950: UIQ 3 compatibility and Symbian Signing special offer", May and July 2006 news article>>
• UIQ 3 Tips, Tricks & Code>>
• UIQ 3 SDK and related documentation>>
• Developers' Guidelines Signing applications for Sony Ericsson UIQ 3 phones>>
• "M600 with over-the-air (OTA) access to Sony Ericsson Application Shop", July 2006 news article>>
• How to become a Sony Ericsson Application Shop/Motricity Content partner>>
• UIQ 3 developer case studies>>
• P990 on Developer World>>
• M600 on Developer World>>
• W950 on Developer Worid>>

* Try and Buy applications have some limitations. Some software and user guides may not be localized for all markets. Similarly some products may only be supported in certain languages or service coverage may be limited. Some products may be unavailable in certain markets or at first launch date. The general requirement in order to have an application distributed globally by Sony Ericsson is to support at least the EFIGS (English, French, Italian, German and Spanish) languages and traditional Chinese.