"Since Motorola's market share is falling, especially overseas, it's likely that this type of reduction would have happened regardless if Google was in charge," Gold said.

"I don't think this is the end of Motorola, but I do expect a scaled-back presence with fewer phone models and a heavy concentration on the higher end of the market," Gold said. " Just like Nokia and RIM, Motorola is being forced to concentrate on its core growth areas and not compete at the low end where it can't win."

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at or subscribe to . His email address is .

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