The setbacks come as the world's attention is firmly fixated on Apple's new iPhone. Moto's own email device, the Q, may have received early praise, but tough competition from the likes of Research in Motion will only be amplified by the rollout of the iPhone.
Meanwhile, Motorola continues to face cutthroat competition from Nokia, LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, while faced with saturated developed markets. Add in a handset interface which is, essentially, the opposite of the Nokia model that is widely deemed 'Intuitive', and it is easy to see why consumers are less than enamoured with Motorola's new product range.
Still, in Asia at least, the signs are not all bad. China has grown at a remarkable rate in recent years and is expected to result in Moto's North Asian leadership team of CEO Michael Tatelman and marketing chief Ian Chapman-Banks taking charge of the newly-created Asia-Pacific region. The move will see the disbanding of Moto's high growth markets division, which - ironically enough - has seen some of the brand's most innovative marketing strategies, along with the rollout of its lowest-cost handsets, causing consequent pressure on profit margins.
With incomes rising in emerging markets, Motorola can at least be assured that many Asian countries are seeing surging demand for higher-priced products. Whether this will placate either Wall Street or its shareholders is another story.
Motorola attributes its poor results to 'an unfavourable geographical and product-tier mix of sales' and has cut 3,500 jobs globally. If it can successfully shift emerging markets up the mobile phone value chain, Moto can prosper.
