Motorola posts 3Q profit, names permanent CFO

Now I have to admit it, this is a surprise for me.Motorola Inc. reported an unexpected quarterly profit Thursday as operating losses in its struggling mobile phone division narrowed. The company also forecast stronger-than-anticipated earnings for the current period.Motorola shares jumped 64 cents, or 8 percent, to $8.60 in premarket trading.The results marked Motorola's second straight quarter in positive territory after months of heavy losses and shrinking market share in the cell phone business.Sales continued to fall, but the company is pinning its turnaround effort on a new slate of phones powered by Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Two of the phones, including a new device called the Droid introduced by Verizon Wireless on Wednesday, will be available as the holiday season arrives.Motorola seems to me way behind market trends to produce only-covering-basics touchscreen phones which the recession-stricken but touchscreen-hungry consumers seem to love.They surely need to take more out of the books of LG and Samsung which have come out this quarter with buckets full of cash.

The company also said it has named Edward Fitzpatrick, the Motorola's acting chief financial officer, as permanent CFO