Good news coming from the Motorola camp? Say it ain't so! The long-standing feud between the flagging company and investor Carl Icahn has finally come to an end, and lo and behold, the pending litigation between the two has even been dismissed. Apparently the two parties managed to agree that (effective immediately) Keith Meister, a managing director of the Icahn investment funds and principal executive officer of Icahn Enterprises would be "appointed to serve on the [firm's board of directors]," and William R. Hambrecht, founder, chairman and CEO of WR Hambrecht + Co. and co-founder of Hambrecht & Quist, would be "nominated for election" during the 2008 annual shareholders meeting. Heck, Moto's even soliciting Mr. Icahn's input in dealing with the hopeful separation of businesses -- but then again, it would probably take advice from just about anyone given the current state of affairs.

Most folks would take a failed executive board bid as a hint that their controversial opinions aren't welcome within earshot of the boardroom, wouldn't they? Maybe not. Investor, financier, outspoken individual, and rich dude Carl Icahn has once again spouted off about Motorola's business model, reiterating his stance that Moto's handset biz should be spun off and sold for something on the order of $10 billion. Compared side by side with the entirety of Nokia -- the world's largest mobile manufacturer -- it actually comes off sounding a little silly: Nokia's got a market capitalization hovering around $145 billion. Yes, that would value Motorola's phone operations at less than 8 percent of Nokia, which either makes Icahn sound like a fool, or Moto sound like it has a lot of work to do if it plans to recapture number two from Samsung.

Motorola's annual shareholder meeting took place last night, and from initial results, billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn was not elected to the company's board of directors. The fire between Icahn -- who owns 2.9 percent of Motorola's shares -- and MOTOMNGMNT has turned into a venomous circus recently. The mud from all that slinging was still fresh last night at the company's annual shareholder's meeting where Moto's board of directors was up for election. Although Motorola CEO Ed Zander responded to Icahn's failed bid by saying "we remain steadfast in our commitment to continue building value for all of our stockholders," that sentiment had not been flying with the feisty billionaire investor. Although final tabulation of board election votes is still not 100 percent final right now, it looks like Icahn will need another venue to light a fire under Motorola's butt as the company struggles to return to profitability.

Billionaire financier Carl Icahn has a history of investing in companies where he can start exuding his influence for reform. The latest saga in Icahn's quest for corporate justice involves Motorola, where he wants CEO Ed Zander out (now). Motorola's troubles recently have been amplified in the financial media, as the company can't seem to replicate its RAZR success to save its life. The magic seems gone, and Icahn is pitching for a board seat so that he can instigate some management changes. In other words, Zander should be worried -- very worried. If the wireless giant can't return to sustainable profitability like, yesterday, Icahn may press even harder. The pressure has been so intense that Motorola recently sent an open letter to shareholders where it dissed the man (well, to a point). One thing is for sure -- Motorola is not leaving the cellphone biz for the action figure market like we were playfully guessing recently.