Motorola Mobility has a steep climb

SUNNYDALE, Calif., Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Industry analysts are saying Google has an uphill battle in trying to put sinking U.S. technology giant Motorola Mobility back in the black.

The company Google bought for $12.5 billion has not made a profit in 14 of the past 16 quarters, The New York Times reported Monday.

Motorola Mobility Chief Executive Officer Dennis Woodside said he's "really excited about the smartphone business" in a rare interview, noting Google needed to change its mindset from a "wired model ... to a pretty much completely wireless model over time."

Profits may be slow to arrive, however. Motorola Mobility said Sunday it would lay off 4,000 employees, a fifth of its workforce.

Currently "90 percent of the profits in the smartphone space are going to Apple and Samsung ... There's no real sign that's changing anytime soon," said former Microsoft manager Charles Kindel.

The company "got left in the dust by the competition and kind of missed the smartphone transition," Charles Golvin, an industry analyst at Forrester Research, told the Times.

It was assumed Google was as interested in buying Motorola Mobility's 17,000 patents as it was in salvaging profits from the company's production line.

Woodside said the company is set on a smaller production line with slicker features, such as a better camera, longer lasting batteries and voice-sensors.