Motorola's 51% drop in cellphone sales and company-wide US$3.58 billion dollar loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 has some analysts wondering why the company doesn't abandon its mobile phone efforts altogether.

"To be blunt, you can't fix the handset business," Citigroup analyst Jim Suva told Motorola execs during Tuesday's . The cellphone division's operating loss of $595 million amounts to a $31 loss for each phone shipped.

But co-chief Sanjay Jha told reporters and analysts the company plans to try to revive its cellphone business unit, in part by focusing on mid and high-end phones, according to a Wall Street Journal . As a result, Jha said that he expects Motorola's cellphone sales will fall faster than the market, as the company abandons lower-end buyers. His co-CEO, Greg Brown, said the company's plan to spin off its cellphone unit, a move which has been postponed, is still under consideration.

Jha and Brown also announced that Motorola has suspended its dividend payments, and is replacing its chief financial officer in an attempt to turn the company's financial situation around.