Check the interesting article written by Rafe Bladford over at All About Symbian. It details the development of the Motorola Z8's software development, and how its use of the UIQ 3 interface (a Symbian-based GUI) increases the capabilities of the Chicago-based manufacturer:

The Z8's use of UIQ 3 answers many of Motorola's problems. UIQ is based on the technically advanced Symbian OS and is already well established, with an existing third party software catalog and accompanying developer community. The Z8 demonstrates that it allows Motorola to build sophisticated devices with specifications that measure up favourably to its competitors in the European market. If Motorola can marry its style conscious design to greater technical sophistication then it can create potentially world beating handsets. Previously, it was hard to see Motorola producing a cutting edge handset like the N95 - with a UIQ 3 product family that possibility suddenly seems a lot closer.

It will be interesting to see if this is Motorola's start at challenging Nokia dominance.