Motorola posted a 94 percent drop in its third quarter profit but there are signs of progress on the handset side. Motorola said its marketshare for handsets worldwide is now 13 percent. The company shipped 37.2 million handset units during the past quarter, but the unit posted a 36 percent decline in revenue to $4.45 billion year-over-year.

"The third quarter was about progress," Mr. Zander told analysts in a conference call. "We also recognize there's a lot of work to do."

For more on Motorola's Q3:
- read this report from the WSJ (sub. req.)