I read this article last week posted on the UIQ blog, and it was titled "Why UIQ failed to meet the expectations". I caution those that want to read this article: it is horribly written! Nevertheless it does provide some insight as to why the UIQ never became popular.

The article talks mostly about software, and I think that software is quite a valid reason for the failure to meet expectations. Lack of flash, memory issues, and not a lot of apps (compared to S60, Palm and Windows Mobile) are definite contributors to the lack of success of the platform. I however disagree that the software, and SonyEricsson's support policies, are the root of the problem.

My diagnosis: It's the phones, stupid!
I bought my P800 on the day it came out. I was a happy camper even after two years after it came out! Yes there were issues, but I was content with the phone. Other models succeeded it: the P900, P910 and P990. None of these phones enticed me to spend another $600-$1000 to upgrade!

When Nokia, and HTC were coming out with phones that were Quadband GSM, UMTS, had GPS and WiFi built-in, and had cameras that were 3 or 5 Megapixel, why would I spend my hard earned money to buy a P9xx phone that had a limited camera, no GPS, no WiFi *and* was only triband GSM?

Nokia did a smart thing, it put S60 on a boatload of phones, and gave consumers choice! SonyEricsson on the other hand gave you one P-model (Professional), on W-model (Walkman) and one M-model (mid range?) Why lower your expectations with SonyEricsson when you can have more options with Nokia? This lack of hardware probably discouraged a lot of developers, and deprived the UIQ from a user base that would ultimately support it.

I am interested in seeing how the UIQ will be folded into the open symbian platform. Will it survive in some fashion? or will it bite the dust?