If Moto didn't have handsets…

While Motorola can't get ditch its red-ink-spewing handset division in the current environment, its other divisions don't do so badly.

The Motley Fool says the rest of Moto is "working just fine" with a booming time being had selling setup boxes and network infrastructure hardware to cable and phone companies like Verizon and Comcast.

While the Mobile Devices segment chalked up an operating loss of $840 million and a sales decrease of 31 percent compared to 3Q07, the Homes and Networks Mobility segment sales were down only 1 percent compared to performance last year, while operating earnings increased 65 percent from 2007 to $263 million.  H&NM shipped 4.1 million digital entertainment devices in the quarter, compared to 2.7 million a quarter last year, due to continued strong demand for HD, HD/DVR and IPTV devices.  Key customer wins include KDDI and an IPTV contract with Deutsche Telekom.

The Fool suggests kicking the handset guys out the door and rebuilding the company around enterprise communications and TV network infrastructure.

For more:
- Motorola's press release [1] on 3Q numbers.
- The Motley Fool ponders Moto's problems.  Article [2].  

Related articles
Motorola plans to overhaul handset division, cut jobs [3]
Motorola surrenders its mobile business - FierceTelecom [4]