This is not a surprise. Motorola will buy 50% of UIQ, which is currently 100% owned by Sony Ericsson. UIQ develops an alternative user interface for Symbian operating system, and is the UI for all Symbian-powered SE phones.

Motorola Z8 is a Symbian phone with UIQ as the interface, so the buy-in should not be a surprise at all. Both companies should complement each other, as Motorola is a relative newcomer to the UIQ space, while SE is getting ready to enter the Windows Mobile market.

Well, Nokia shares the s60 UI with Samsung (among others). Hmmm…..