UIQ 3.3 to bring Opera Mobile, widgets

UIQ on Thursday announced the latest version of its user interface, v3.3, which the company hopes will appeal to the mass market of mobile phone users. One way UIQ hopes to accomplish this is by making v3.3 able to run on slower processors than before, bringing it to lower-priced phones. The default browser for v3.3 will be Opera Mobile 9.5, providing users with desktop-like web browsing, Opera Widgets and UIQ Widget Dashboard support.

The newest version of the Symbian OS-paired software also features support of 5-way D-pads as well as dedicated "send" and "end" buttons. A simpler, more logical and consistent user interface is also slated for the upgrade.

Operator-specific packages are now supported, which would allow operators to use branded application launchers, folders and widget dashboards. The new version is also backwards-compatible and supports applications written for older versions

Sony Ericsson and Motorola, the biggest users of current UIQ software, should launch products with the newest software shortly, though there is no word on whether or not older models can be upgraded with v3.3.

Filed under: industry
Other story tags: Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Symbian, UIQ, v3.3