Motorola announced on Thursday that the company would be divided into two separate entities by next year, with one division focusing on handset developments and the other training its attention on professional safety equipments.

Currently the largest US mobile phone manufacturer, Motorola informed the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the split would result into two publicly traded companies and should happen by the first quarter of 2011.

The mobile company said that the new Motorola Mobility would take charge its mobile and home entertainment divisions while its sibling, Motorola Solutions, would be in charge of its enterprise mobility solutions and network business division.

Motorola said that the new division would mainly deal on two-way radios, mobile computers, secure public safety systems, scanners and wireless network infrastructure.

Company co-chief executive Sanjay Jha noted that mobile devices saw substantial advancement this year and "we are confident that the separation is the right strategy for Motorola, our stockholders, our customers, our partners and our employees."

Mr Jha, who has been working for a spin off the company's mobile division since his hiring in 2008, is set to head the Motorola Mobility division while Greg Brown would serve as Motorola Solutions' co-chief executive.

Motorola had seen sales peak in 2005 when it launched its iconic Razr phone though it gradually lost mobile market leadership when Apple' iPhone was introduced while Research in Motion's BlackBerry was redesigned and re-launched.

Other mobile phone makers, such as Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, have also made headways since then and leaving Motorola struggling to recapture its market dominance or simply compete with current market leaders.

The company currently places its bets on Google's open-source Android mobile phone operating system and in its bid to revive its lost standing, Motorola recently released series of Droid smartphones, which were all Android-powered.