Motorola's Android-based Droid X and Droid 2 helped the company's mobile device business attain profitability for the first time in more than three years. The company as a whole earned a $109 million profit for the third quarter, and revenues hit $4.9 billion, up 13 percent from Q3 2009, reports Motorola.

Motorola's bet on Android paid off again in the third quarter, as the company reported a $109 million profit, well above the $12 million earned in the year-ago quarter.

The phone maker's revenues hit $4.9 billion, up 13 percent from a year-ago. Motorola's stock rose to $8.71 from the previous close of $8.09 on the news.

Motorola's mobile device segment sales topped $2 billion, up 20 percent from a year ago and reaching profitability for the first time in more than three years, Sanjay Jha, Motorola co-CEO, said in a statement.

These sales were helped by the 3.8 million smartphones Motorola shipped, led by the Droid X (pictured at right) and Droid 2. "Droid X continues to sell extremely well, and we have had several other successful smartphone launches globally, including the Droid 2 [and] the Ming series in China," Jha said. 

In August, Motorola upgraded its popular Linux-based Ming series of phones with Android in three models, including the XT806 (pictured at left), now being sold by China Telecom.

Just a few short years ago, Motorola was getting beaten by Samsung handsets, Apple's iPhone, and others in the market, and the company made a strategic decision to leverage the open source Android platform. Motorola in November 2009 launched the inaugural Motorola Droid on Verizon Wireless' network and has enjoyed a steady climb in sales, units shipped and profits since. 

The company went on to release the Motorola Droid X and its Droid 2 sequel. The Droid X followed the HTC Evo 4G from Sprint by offering a 4.3-inch screen for multimedia play; the Droid 2 (pictured at right) offered users a faster Droid with a better slideout QWERTY keyboard.

Motorola's biggest bests may come in the fourth quarter, when it plans to roll out the Droid Pro on Verizon's network, along with five other devices as part of its holiday lineup of Android smartphones. Designed for enterprises, the Android 2.2-based Droid Pro includes remote wipe of device and SD card and complex password support. The Motorola Citrus and Spice, both based on Android 2.1, are lower-end models with a focus on the environment. 

The Android 2.1-based Flipout (pictured at left) and Flipside, cousins to the Motorola Backflip, will also be available in Q4 this year on AT&T. The AT&T Bravo provides the encore with a 3.7-inch display.

Despite Motorola's unqualified success with Motorola, analysts for Jefferies and Co. believe Motorola's reliance on Android can be a competitive disadvantage because Samsung, HTC, and others can "tap into the same ecosystem." Moreover, they said Motorola's development and manufacturing remains at the mercy of Android's release schedule.

Availability

Motorola's 3Q 2010 earnings announcement may be found here.

Clint Boulton is a regular contributor to our sister publication eWEEK.

This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.