Motorola split into Motorola Solutions (the robust, profitable part you're thinking about) and Motorola Mobility (the volatile, floundering part that was weighi

Motorola split into Motorola Solutions (the robust, profitable part you're thinking about) and Motorola Mobility (the volatile, floundering part that was weighing Motorola down) early last year. Motorola Mobility are mobile phones and cable top boxes, that's the part Google bought. That other stuff is Motorola Solutions. After the split Motorola Mobility went into "ah oh, somebody better buy me or I might do something stupid" mode playing Microsoft and Google against each other. This is also when Motorola was leaking the rumors of a full private Android fork that cuts Google out (replacing the market, gps/navigation libraries, etc), threatening to sue other Android manufacturers, etc. After Microsoft/Apple et al got the Nortel patents, Google couldn't afford for Microsoft to also get Motorola's.