Moto phones' future in Qualcomm man's hands

So who’s getting the poison chalice of the top job at Motorola’s handset division (well on its way to be being rechristened Motorola’s ailing handset division by practically everyone in the media)? Step up to the plate, Sanjay Jha, former COO of Qualcomm.

Jha, as well as being head of the devices business, will become the co-CEO of the company from this week.

I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Jha speak a few times – on initial impressions he’s a whip-smart, energetic and good-humoured individual and he’s well used to talking up all manner of yet-to-go-mainstream applications. That said, Qualcomm is very obviously not a handset company and gets all its device needs serviced by OEMs and for that reason Jha is an interesting appointment.

Qualcomm’s interests are diverse – like Motorola’s – so you can see Jha’s attraction for the board as the co-CEO of the company. As for finding Motorola’s next Razr or iPhone killer, though, his Qualcomm background will either be kill or cure for the handset division.