When Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) hired Ed Zander in 2004, the company was looking for someone to ignite its wireless handset division with fresh product designs and gargantuan sales. Once the Motorola RAZR hit the shelves and started selling like hotcakes, Zander looked like a genius. But the market-defining RAZR was something that already existed once Zander arrived, lucky enough for him. Over the next four years, though, Motorola fizzled and couldn't replicate the snazzy designs or the robust sales that all its main competitors were still enjoying.

Zander resigned from the CEO post earlier this year and Motorola exec Greg Brown took his place. Things have not gotten better really, and Brown's plan to spin off the wireless handset business into another company even had to be put on hold. This week, Motorola also announced it is freezing salaries, suspending 401k matching contributions and cutting compensation for executives in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

But Zander, for reasons unknown, just became a board member of EagleView Technologies -- a company that measures distances using detailed aerial photography for all types of industries like roofing, solar, fencing and others. Why would EagleView want Zander -- who failed miserably at Motorola -- to join its board?

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) just can't seem to find a sliver of good news to hang on to these days. The cellphone manufacturer based outside of Chicago saw its shares hit a five-year low this week as the outlook for its cellphone division continues to worsen. The company is in the midst of preparing to spin off the division to rid itself of that baggage. It's a sad state when that "baggage" is what defines Motorola.

Motorola contract manufacturer FoxConn had some cautious words to say this week as well, which probably helped propel Motorola's shares downward to $7.61, a level not seen since May 2003. After losing $194 million in the first quarter alone, it's just bewildering to see how such a great company completely lost its way, financially speaking.

It's not getting any better. The company's product launches have been described as a "half-baked mess" and it can't seem to find a knack for the cellphone handset design that it made so famous years ago with the RAZR. Motorola certainly isn't a one-hit wonder, but in the brutal cellphone market you need a hit every year to stay at the top of your game. Korean giant Samsung Electronics passed Motorola by in 2007 to become the world's second-largest cellphone manufacturer by having a whole host of cellphone designs available to almost every wireless carrier in the world. That's just for starters, but for Motorola, it seems to be an impossible goal at the moment.

As Doug reported on earlier, Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is searching feverishly for a possible CEO to lead the company that will be created when it spins off its cellphone division. The only problem is that the candidates aren't just lining up for this one. Respected turnaround executive Todd Bradly said yesterday he would not be leaving his post as Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) for the top job at Motorola. And this is from a guy who has made a habit of taking the reigns of troubled companies and turning them around very successfully.

It's hard to completely understand why Motorola's cellphone division went from shining start just a few years ago to a complete and total mess. Former CEO Ed Zander blames former cellphone division head Ron Garriques, who bolted for Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) in January 2007 just as Motorola's long slide down to insignificance and missed profits was just beginning to take hold. Did Garriques time his exit almost perfectly? It sure seems that way, but the mess that he left behind was either his own doing or was partly the fault (if not completely) of Zander, who ended up resigning under pressure as a result.

It's hard to see how Motorola can completely turn around its cellphone business, even if that part is indeed spun off into a separate company. It's a textbook story of how, within just a few years, a company can go from best to worst as it misfired on about every possible front. It's been in a rut before, such as the 1990s when it missed the transition to digital cellphones and gave up tons of marketshare to rival Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK). This will be a lot harder for someone to fix, although it's a massive and unique opportunity. If Bradley won't bite, though, who will?

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) seems to be in the midst of a crisis, even as it prepares to split itself into two companies to give shareholders more visibility into just how bad one part of its business can be while the other piece can be, well, not so bad. Of course, I'm talking about the wireless giant's cellphone division, which is still in the top three worldwide in terms of sales. It's sinking faster than a rock, though. How did this come to pass?

After reading a missive by a former Motorola employee, Numair Faraz, who worked closely with the late Geoffrey Frost -- Motorola's former Chief Marketing Officer and father of the RAZR handset -- one has to wonder about a few things. For example, just what kind of incompetence has brewed in the corner office for the last three years? From reading Faraz's words, both former CEO Ed Zander is pitched as a complete idiot and slave driver who literally worked Frost to death and current CEO Greg Brown is pitched as a technological moron who can't even use email (his secretary prints off messages to read to him later). Are these truths? They sure could be.

Zander, who was highly regarded when he came back in 2004 to take over for CEO (and grandson of company founder) Chris Galvin, seemed to have everything going for him. Looking back, nothing ever went right for Zander. The RAZR that gave Motorola its two-year recognition was in the works before he arrived. What did Zander -- a former president of Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) -- do during his tenure with Motorola?

Swipe big chunks of compensation while churning out middling performance, according to many on Wall Street and Faraz as well. Maybe Galvin was not such a bad CEO after all, right? When Faraz said in 2003 that "Motorola's biggest problem is that Samsung kicks ass," he wasn't kidding -- and that's precisely what happened. Seems to be another example of very sub-par performance being rewarded with a golden parachute, while shareholders get shafted once again. Motorola stood at under $10 a share early today.

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) CEO Greg Brown just can't make up his mind on trying to find a leader for the telecom company's troubled wireless handset division. First, he anointed himself as leader of that division, which needs a swift kick in the pants to return to profitability and deliver some knockout cellphones customers will lust after. Maybe he bit off more than he could chew.

At least Brown says that the company is "committed" to the handset division, after rumors of a company breakup swirled heavily in the air. Well, that may be true, as Brown is reportedly looking for a new executive to run the handset division. In fact, he stated that 80% of his time these days is being spent looking for that person as he aired in a few conversations at a recent Morgan Stanly Technology Conference.

Motorola's Brown said that he's looking outside the company as well for the new executive to lead the handset division of Motorola -- someone who will be tasked with leading the most public face of the company "on a
product-led recovery." That's an understatement -- this executive will need design and marketing finesse in addition to strong logistics and P&L experience at the very least to get some kick back into Motorola's cellphone existence while making a consistent profit. That's a tall order considering the state Motorola's handset division is in at the moment.

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), the company that defined two-way radio communications decades ago and helped invent the cellular telephone business in the 1980s, may be looking to shed itself of its handset division. After one of the best wireless handset success stories ever with the 50 million-strong RAZR, the company has been mired in sagging sales, market share losses and monetary losses all at the same time. Even the company's former CEO didn't escape, as Ed Zander left his CEO spot less than a month ago under severe fire from the investment community.

Motorola's shares have plunged based on its horrible financial results, today standing at just over $11.30 per share, giving the company a market cap of just over $25 billion. The company's current malaise is largely due to the complete ineptness of its handset division, which for some reason fell off the wagon completely after the RAZR became the wireless handset darling of this decade. Motorola has seen suggestions of a breakup to unlock shareholder value, something longtime investor activist Carl Icahn has advocated.

Will Motorola dump its handset division and concentrate on becoming an enterprise equipment company instead of a consumer one? Analyst Richard Windsor speculated this week that the world's second-largest handset maker may indeed sell its wireless handset division. If a sale is made, the buyer will have a plethora of problems to fix; problems that, for some reason, are being evaded at Motorola's largest competitors in the space. Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK),for example, seems to be doing quite well.

Fingerprints matching those of legendary activist investor Carl Icahn have been found on the neck of Chairman and former CEO of Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) Ed Zander. Metaphorically speaking of course.

But Ol' Carl's gotta be feeling pretty feisty after the company, of which he owns more than 4%, reported an 84% plunge in fourth quarter profits.

Recently-appointed CEO Greg Brown has said he believes it will take longer than expected for the company's mobile devices business to recover, BloggingStocks' Eliza Popescu reported earlier. The company also posted a bleak outlook for the first quarter.

The moral of the story is clear: When an investment legend like Carl Icahn says a CEO needs to be sent packin' to devote more time to his family and art collection, investors best listen up. Icahn's efforts to gain control of the company's board and oust Zander and Co. were rebuffed by institutional shareholders. They must be feeling pretty stupid right now.

Even though Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPhone has torn the wireless market away from Motorola (NYSE: MOT)'s RAZR2 wireless phone, can the once high-flying wireless giant regain some sense of composure after a disastrous 2007? Not this quarter. Sorry, folks.

Although new CEO Greg Brown has only been chief executive for less than a month, the mess left behind by former CEO Ed Zander will take most of 2008 to fix. The last wireless hit from the company -- the RAZR -- did not see a successor and at the same time, Motorola has been challenged to find consistent profits as competitors nip at its heels. The RAZR2, which is a very high-end phone and a worthy follow-up to 2004's RAZR, has been completely overshadowed by Apple's iPhone. Result: the launch and sales (so far) of the RAZR2 have been a non-event, just at the time the company needed a home run. So far, the RAZR2 is not saving Motorola.

So, when the wireless giant reports earnings tomorrow, the consensus is for another disastrous quarter. Although earnings are expected to be 12 cents per share on revenue of about $9.65 billion, the 13% market share the company is expected to have would be down from 2006's 23 percent. Q4 wireless handset shipments are pegged at 40 million, representing that 13% market share.

Without a compelling wireless handset lineup that features access to 3G technology, it may take Motorola at least a few more quarters before it can battle back to more market share. The thing is that Motorola can't afford to take 24 months to bring advanced handsets to market unless it wants the competition to eat even more of its lunch.

When Motorola (NYSE: MOT) announced this past Friday that CEO Ed Zander would be leaving his post come the first of next year, not too many industry pundits and analysts were surprised. Motorola seems to have lost its way in the last 18 months when it comes to the wireless handset marketplace, and Zander's inability to manage through that challenge cost him his job. But can his successor, the much-admired Motorola President Greg Brown, stage a comeback for the wireless giant?

Brown has every bit as impressive (if not more) of a resume as Zander, having racked up 25 years in the tech industry along with mounds of operations expertise. Zander's claim to fame was as past president of Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVAD), although at the helm of Motorola, his reputation took a beating as the tech giant floundered against the competition, both in market share and profit.

Even though his efforts to get on Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) board of directors came up short, Carl Icahn has been vindicated, in a way. The stock has continued to lag but today, Ed Zander, the target of much of Icahn's vitriol has stepped down as CEO of the company.

Never one to miss an opportunity to dance on an enemy of shareholder value's grave, Icahn put out a press release applauding the move:

"I believe that the replacement of Ed Zander as CEO is a positive step for Motorola, but that the action of the Board was long past due. As I said at Motorola's shareholder's meeting last year, although I like Ed Zander personally, I never thought that he was the right man for the job at Motorola. Further, I believe that the steps announced today do not even begin to address the major problems at Motorola. In my opinion, Motorola should be split into separate companies: a mobile devices company; an enterprise mobility company; a connected home company; and a company focused on mobile networks infrastructure. In particular, I believe that the best opportunity for the mobile devices' business to attract top flight management and to prosper and grow is to establish it as a stand alone business."

With Zander out of the picture, Icahn's plans may have a better shot at coming to fruition. The stock closed up more than 2% today.

Motorola Corp. (NYSE: MOT) Chief Executive Ed Zander is stepping down as of January 1, according to CNBC's David Faber. He is being replaced by president and chief operating officer Greg Brown.

Zander, who was brought to the company to replace the mess created by his predecessor Chris Galvin, will remain as chairman. Shares of Motorola are down about 29% over the past year. They are trading up in pre-market trading.

The move isn't surprising since Zander was on thin ice with investors for a long time, including billionaire activist Carl Icahn.

"Until recently, much of the blame for the ailing mobile-phone business was laid at the feet of Motorola's former cell phone czar, Ron Garriques, who was criticized for chasing market share at the expense of profitability," BusinessWeek wrote in July. "But in the absence of Garriques, who bolted for Dell (DELL) in February, the buck stops with Zander, investors say."

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings and bullish guidance to Wall Street. Shares of the cell-phone maker soared in pre-market action.

Net income was $60 million, or 3 cents a share, on revenue of $8.81 billion. Profit was 6 cents excluding one-time costs, beating the 4-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. The cell phone maker expects to earn 12 cents to 14 cents this year, surpassing the 11 cents analysts had expected.

The question is whether these results are good enough to convince billionaire Carl Ichan to back off from his campaign against Chief Executive Ed Zander who has been trying to boost profit by reducing costs including the elimination of 5,000 jobs. Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Lawrence Harris told Bloomberg News that he believes the "turnaround is here" and that Zander's turnaround plan is "working."

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Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is set to release its latest quarterly earnings this week, and earnings are expected to be $0.04 per share according to analyst estimates. Although Motorola CEO Ed Zander has jettisoned about 10% of the company's global workforce and has finally introduced a true successor to the record-setting RAZR handset from 2004 (the RAZR 2), he may just be biding his time until he gets the boot.

When Motorola's time comes tomorrow, the company will most likely report a profit -- its first in three quarters. But does a small quarterly profit make for a legitimate comeback? Not at all. The first half of this year saw a $209 million loss for the largest cellphone maker in the U.S., and a profit (even a small one) this quarter will be the final opportunity for Zander to produce a return to consistent profitability by the end of 2007. If he does not show this, expect a resignation. For Carl Icahn, who has been critical of Zander, it would be sweet justice.

Although cutting costs is the top tool for Zander, improving sales and margins is much more important if he doesn't want to be seen as a leader who can't produce growth quarter by quarter. His days may or may not be limited, but by the end of 2007, the writing will be on the wall. Either Zander finds a way to grow sales and profit beyond cost cutting, or investors who want to unlock more value from the company will scream until he's ejected from the company.

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Motorola Inc.'s (NYSE: MOT) management is trying to convince Wall Street that the company can be turned around. In meetings Friday, CEO Ed Zander referred to the past success of the RAZR and said that the company could get back there again. "We've done it, we've been there," he said. "We've got to get back on it, and do it not for three years but 30 years." Other managers from the firm predicted that a new handset success would emerge from relying on server models and not just one mega-hit.

But, it is probably too late. Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) has raised its share of global handset sales to about 36%. Motorola's has fallen to 16% from 22% at it peak a year-and-a-half ago. And sharp improvement in sales at Samsung and Sony Ericsson means that there are at least two other strong competitors.

Motorola also has to worry about what the sharp cut in the price of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone will mean to the market, especially once that product goes on sale in Europe and Asia.

Motorola has two other large divisions -- its enterprise telecommunications equipment operation and its set-top box business. Both of these do fairly well. Whether all three units belong under one roof is an issue that the board should review.

But getting back its market share in the handset business is unlikely to happen. The company cannot even point to a specific plan.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Motorola (NYSE: MOT) chief Ed Zander is on the hot seat, big time. Although Carl Icahn failed months ago to secure a seat on the Motorola board (where he would have pushed Zander out if possible), there are activist shareholders amassing at the cellphone maker's border ready to torch the place and install new management. Why? Well, Motorola's recent results just posted today added more doom to the gloom for Zander and Co. His days are now officially numbered.

Why in the world is Motorola not profitable and not expecting to get there until 2008? It is still the world's second-largest wireless handset maker, but for some reason it has not figured out in recent quarters how to turn a profit, while making upwards of $9 billion per quarter. If Zander was brought in years ago for his operational expertise (generally this involves cost cutting and margin expertise), then the exact opposite results being seen now at the company he leads are just nudging him closer and closer to the front door. As in, bye-bye, boss.

Motorola blamed weak sales for the second quarter on lackluster results in Asia and Europe. Well, its business is not that stellar in the U.S. either, so where is the company doing well? Nowhere -- and without a road map of some new killer cellphone product, Motorola may be going absolutely nowhere. Even if the RAZR 2 launch is very successful, I'm not sure it can repeat the blowout success of the original RAZR handset, which padded Motorola's bottom line for over two years. That day has now ended, and Zander's inability to line up successors and revenue producers in the last 24 months will lead to his end at Motorola this year as well. Chalk it up.