Motorola (NYSE: MOT) has lost more marketshare this quarter according to analysts, slipping to fourth place six months earlier than expected. Motorola releases its figures tomorrow, but an average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg found that sales may have fallen 26 percent to 26.1 million handsets in the last quarter, which would put it behind LG (SEO: 066570) which shipped 27.7 million handsets in the quarter. Even Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC), which saw sales divebomb this quarter, is described as “closing in” on Motorola, having shipped 24.4 million handsets last quarter. Samsung shipped 45.7 million and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) shipped 122 million.

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More concerning is the verdict of Raimundo Archibold, an analyst at Kaufman Brothers LP in New York, who opines that Motorola won’t be able to sell the business until it is profitable or in “the state of being mended”. “If the handset unit hasn’t returned to profit a year from now, Motorola will have to consider cutting its losses and closing the business, Archibold said. He recommends buying the stock, saying it’s worth $10 without the phone division. He owns the shares.” The general opinion is that at some point Motorola will get its act together and fix its handset business, so that even if it doesn’t regain its top-tier position it will at least be a significant manufacturer in the top 5. Now there’s the suggestion that it may just disappear?