There are few if any guarantees that Motorola’s bold software and product timetable decisions will pay dividends, analysts say, but after years of inertia and indecisiveness, the handset maker had no other choice.

In its third-quarter earnings call Thursday, Motorola confirmed published reports that it will focus exclusively on Android and Windows Mobile as its software platforms.

While most analysts agree that the move to cut production costs via software consolidation was necessary, the news that the company will not market a high-end Android device before late 2009 was troubling.

“Motorola is in a race against time, and the inability to get Android products into the market before the second half of 2009 worries me,” said Bony Joy, an analyst with Strategy Analytics.

With HTC already in the market with the G1 and other handset makers currently working on Android products, Motorola’s timetable puts it too far behind its rivals in the fast-moving mobile market.

“Motorola has already missed two to three years in the business and this just adds to that deficit, and the strength of the company in executing products even on this relaxed schedule is in question,” Mr. Joy said.

Motorola’s decision to use Google’s and Microsoft’s software exclusively means it is locked in to the world of those companies.

Not having to support its own software development  in the way Apple, Nokia, and RIM do has great economic benefits, but it also has some critical drawbacks.

“Your own OS gives you a lot more flexibility and control of your development schedule, but at least Motorola is a big enough player that it could influence Android’s development,” said Fred Boxa, principal with IBB Consulting.

Analysts agree that using the Google-Microsoft partner model allows Motorola to focus on handset development, but it also reduces its opportunities to innovate and differentiate because those operating systems will be equally available to its rivals.

“Motorola will be limited to the design, functionality, and usability of the devices, and in a highly competitive market that is a drawback,” Mr. Joy said.

But there is at least one big positive in Motorola’s decision to focus on Android and Windows Mobile:

“Android has been designed to match the hardware requirement of Windows Mobile,” Nomura analyst Richard Windsor said in a report. “This means that one hardware design can be used for two phones with almost no modification (one using Windows and one using Android).”

That means significantly lower production costs.

The consensus is that after years of missed opportunities, Motorola has to rebuild its credibility among partners and analysts and while its decisions are fraught with problems, analysts see them as a necessary first step in the rebuilding.