Speaking at an investor’s conference call on Thursday, Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha said that the 2009 fourth quarter will see the company unveil a number of Google Android smartphones, to be available in different price ranges.

The planned collection of the mid- to high-end smartphones will be based on the Android operating system, developed by the Google-backed Open Handset Alliance. Making a formal announcement about Motorola’s year-end plans to deliver “meaningful products”, Jha said: “We remain on track to having Android devices in the fourth quarter, for the holiday season.”

In his ‘all Android’ speech, Jha acknowledged the critical significance that Android smartphones will hold for Motorola and its dwindling market share. Jha said that the smartphone market is the one bright spot in the resilient mobile industry, which has stood up to the challenges of the downturn.

Going by the specs and photos of the supposed Motorola’s Android prototypes making rounds on the Net, the handsets appear to be rather appealing.  The striking ones among the lot are - the handset reportedly code-named Calgary, which features a slide-out Qwerty keyboard and a touchscreen; and the one Blackberry-like messaging handset called Ironman.

Since Motorola is banking heavily on its Android bet, analyst Mark McKechnie, of American Technology Research, said if something goes amiss, Motorola’s “money-losing handset unit is done!”