We can't quite say we were hoping to see the Motorola Alexander by now, but we were expecting it.

But Digitimes is now reporting "that Motorola has canceled the planned launch of the Alexander handset." And that's all they had to say about that.

Here's the good news: The wording there could well mean that at least some phones were produced and may end up on the eBay circuit, as has the Moto Napolean. Or, it could be all the way dead.

Oh, Moto, say it ain't so. Word on the streets (that'd be the EverythingQ streets) is that the foundering Motorola has given up the ghost on the Q line and replacing it with ... well, that remains to be seen.

EverythingQ is confident in its sources, but this is still unofficial news, so anything's possible. But consider the following: The lackluster Q11 (lackluster as in minor cosmetic changes, no 3G but the addition of WiFi) was released in a few nations but still has yet to be seen in the U.S. The Q9 "Napolean" (pictured above) is still MIA for most people, though EQ does note that it made into a government contract.

So what, if anything, will take the place of the venerable Q? How about the Alexander? (And speaking of the Alexander, that vertical slider idea isn't looking so crazy now, is it?) Or something else entirely?

One thing we do know for certain is that the death of the workhorse Motorola Q line would leave more than a few of us a bit teary eyed. (Listen to Dieter sing its praises in the latest WME podcast as he preps for CES this week). We'll just have to see what's next, and hope for the best for Moto.

If you were hoping to get your hands on an Alexander or Attila any time soon, you might as well take a seat, its going to be a while. Commercial Times is saying were not going to see these bad boys until Q1 2009.

Delays like this are inevitable in the smartphone world, so it's nothing to be shocked by. Still, Motorola is starting to feel like that team that's 14 points behind in the 4th quarter and seems to be sleepwalking through its two-minute drill. What they need to do is squeeze off a couple successful hail mary passes, what they are doing is taking their sweet time with some decided less spectacular efforts in the hopes of getting within field goal range. That, or they just shot themselves in the leg. Football analogies are hard.

via pocketpcthoughts