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So are they looking to sell off their mobile phone unit or not? This is the question we’ve been asking — prompted by many analysts — since it was announced that Motorola has dropped to the No. 3 handset maker in the world, now trailing both Nokia and Samsung. There hasn’t been anything official, but the rumors have been running rampant. They’ve already cut R&D budgets, though that’s said to hopefully move them back to profitability. But CEO Greg Brown indicates that no hint of a sell-off, and is looking for someone to bring Motorola back to their No. 2 spot.

“Longer term there’s no structural impediments to driving double-digit margins in handsets,” said Brown, adding that he spends about 80 percent of his time working on the mobile unit, Motorola’s biggest division.

So Brown should know what’s best for the company. Maybe he’s looking for a strategic installation, allowing the company to sell off the mobile division. Or maybe all those hours he’s spending with mobile phones has him thinking that they have a good thing going, and can return to glory.

Really, Motorola hasn’t been the same since the RAZR hype. They’ve put out a number of decent handsets, like the KRZR, the RIZR, and the ROKR, but are still losing market share to other companies. The idea, I think, is to come up with something completely new, as they did originally with the RAZR.

Realistically, though, they’re not going to return to double-digit profit margins if they just push what they’ve got now. Maybe some mass collaboration would do them some good.

[Reuters]

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