Is Motorola Doing Worse Than Research In Motion?

Even though Motorola Mobility (NYS: MMI) is about to be swallowed whole by Google (NAS: GOOG) , it will keep reporting for itself until the pending acquisition is finalized.

Last night, the company reported third-quarter results, with revenue rising 11% to $3.3 billion, and a GAAP loss per share of $0.11. The company shipped a total of 11.6 million mobile devices, including 4.8 million smartphones. Shipments posted a healthy sequential gain compared to the second quarter, when Motorola shipped 11 million mobile devices, of which 4.4 million were smartphones. Mobile-devices revenue jumped 20% to $2.4 billion, but it still wasn't good enough to turn a profit.

Tablets were a different story, though, as Apple's (NAS: AAPL) iPad continues to steal that show. XOOM shipments fell through the floor, from 440,000 tablets last quarter to a bleak 100,000 tablets this quarter. Research In Motion (NAS: RIMM) even topped that figure last quarter with 200,000 PlayBooks shipped.

During the quarter, Motorola attempted to relive its glory days with the Droid Razr and ripped off Apple's iPod nano with the MOTOACTV. Parent-to-be Google made good on its proclamation that it wouldn't play favorites with Motorola and unveiled the Galaxy Nexus with Samsung.

Overall, I'd say Motorola has been upping its game with its smartphone designs like the Droid Bionic and Atrix, but the XOOM can now officially be considered a failure. The company has already had to cut the price and is still having trouble moving units. It's a sad day when you're doing worse than a tablet that doesn't even have built-in email. Just wait until Amazon.com's (NAS: AMZN) Kindle Fire starts finding its way into people's hands. Motorola's tablet dreams are going up in smoke.

Google has a much better chance of making Motorola work as an investment than you do. This is one that you and I should leave alone.

AddMotorola Mobilityto your Watchlist to see if Google can seal the deal. Getaccess to this free reporton near-field communications, which is finding its way into progressively more smartphones and is set to change the industry.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorEvan Niuowns shares of Amazon.com and Apple, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. Check out hisholdings and a short bio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google and Apple.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Google, Apple, and Amazon.com and creating a bull call spread position in Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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