Motorola confirms Android launch Sept. 10

Motorola confirmed an in email that co-CEO Sanjay Jha will unveil the company's first Android product (or products) at GigaOM's Mobilize 2009 conference in San Francisco on Sept. 10

"The day will begin with Motorola Mobile Devices CEO Sanjay Jha making the company's first Android product announcement during his keynote at GigaOM's Mobilize conference," a Motorola representative said in an email. The company did not provide any other specifics about what would be announced.

Motorola has been largely silent on Android specifics--the company has placed a major bet on the Google-sponsored platform to revamp its flagging handset business--it has previously confirmed that it will launch two Android phones in the United States in the fourth quarter of this year with two different carriers, widely believed to be T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless. 

Further, specs of two Motorola devices, reportedly codenamed Morrison and Sholes, have been leaking for weeks, although the company hasn't provided official details. Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha would only hint that the gadgets will support "integrated contact and message management, multimedia and social collaboration."

Motorola's Android progress will be obviously be watched closely going forward, UBS analyst Maynard Um noted in a research note to investors.

"We believe a key driver to sustainable share price strength will depend on visibility to Motorola's portfolio direction and differentiation (design, applications, services, etc)," he wrote. "Additionally, Motorola's separation plan hinges in large part on the recovery of the Mobile Devices unit and the viability of its handset portfolio in an increasingly competitive smartphone landscape."

Meanwhile, TheStreet.com is reporting that a Verizon representative said the carrier will not be part of the Motorola event, even though Motorola will be announcing its carrier partners. However, this does not necessarily mean that Verizon is not one of the carriers destined to get a Motorola Android phone. 

For more:
- see this Barron's post [1]
- see this PC World article
[2]- see this TheStreet.com article [3]

Related Articles:
Motorola's Android specs leak [4]
Motorola's Jha not betting financial fate on Android blockbusters [5]         
Two U.S. carriers will launch Moto Android phones in Q4 [6]
Report: Verizon, T-Mobile launching Motorola Android phones [7]
Motorola may aim for mid-range market with Android [8]