While software sales at Handango would suggest the UIQ should be the main focus for Mobility Electronics it is in fact Series 60 which is its focus at present. Paul Moreton, Director, Handheld Software is the first to admit that direct sales of Quickoffice on Series 60 have not been as good as UIQ. Paul attributes this to the positioning of the current Series 60 products and lack of PC synchronization.

However direct sales of the Series 60 version of Quickoffice was not a fundamental part of Mobility Electronics business plan for Quickoffice on Series 60. "We strongly believe that customers who buy a Series 60 smartphone will be looking for an office suite to be included with their phones," says Paul. "When a customer pays a premium for one of these devices their expectation that it will include things like an office suite." So the focus for Mobility Electronics has been on licensing Quickoffice directly to handset manufactures something which Paul describes as a "fabulous" success.

No licensing deal have been announced yet but, for example, the Panasonic X700 is advertised as having the capability to edit the same suite of files supported by Quickoffice, although Paul would not comment on this.

The UIQ version of Quickoffice on the other hand has found considerable success in the downloadable software markets. "UIQ customers are much more likely to load software onto their phones," says Paul. "So UIQ has been a good market, with Quickoffice consistently in top 5 applications on Handango." However the licensing model is one Mobility Electronics are pursuing with UIQ too. "We believe that the same expectation exist in the UIQ market ? perhaps more so as these devices are at a further premium," say Paul. "And users will have an expectation that they include an office suit."

But it is Series 60 where Paul sees the most significant opportunities because of the market volumes. "We have spent a considerable amount of time to get the full suite on Series 60 and include PowerPoint editing for the first time. Series 60 is where the leading edge of our technology will first appear." Even so Paul was quick to point out that an update to UIQ, to implement the full office suite, is underway.

Web: Quickoffice