Motorola parteners with Google on Android Phone

Motorola may be the next HTC, aligning itself with Google to offer the equivalent of the Nexus One. For Motorola, the move is a good one since the company is repositioning its business back toward profitability by focusing on Google’s Android operating system.

Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha announced during a fourth-quarter earnings call that Motorola is planning to offer “at least one” smartphone directly to consumers through Google. Android-running smartphones are a major part of Motorola’s financial recovery efforts.

Google introduced the Nexus One, which runs Google’s Android operating system, on Jan. 5, offering it directly to customers, instead of the traditional through-a-carrier route, though a discount is offered with a two-year T-Mobile contract. Though HTC manufactures the smartphone, the arrangement puts Google front and center.

Answering a question during the call about the three tiers of pricing Motorola plans to apply to its Android phones, Jha offered, “The range is really pretty broad. I think that — I won’t give you absolute numbers, but you have certainly above $400 and potentially getting below $200. That would be the range.”

Google priced the unlocked Nexus One at $529, or at $179 with the T-Mobile contract.