• BusinessWeek, Thursday, July 10, 2008 11:30 AM

Motorola, which once commanded more than one-fifth of the global handset market, will likely end the second quarter with 8.5% share, from 9.3% in the first quarter, according to Avian Securities. Avian surveyed 100 representatives of AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, and T-Mobile USA retail locations in June and found that Motorola phones no longer even mase it onto the list of the top 10 best-selling handsets.

Motorola's ability to gain share is being hampered as rivals including Apple and Research in Motion step up their attack on the market for smart phones -- handsets that deliver e-mail, productivity applications and other advanced services. It has yet to deliver AT&T an update to its smart phone, the Q, which debuted in 2007.

Greg Brown, who succeeded Ed Zander as Motorola CEO last year, has acknowledged that Motorola needs a fresh lineup of phones --and that the company is working diligently on getting new products to market. "We are working more closely than ever with customers to tailor our innovative products to meet their needs," says company spokeswoman Jennifer Weyrauch.

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