Motorola CEO Ed Zander has been replaced by Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO of Research In Motion as the Keynote speaker on Day 1 of CTIA, March 27 in Orlando.  Though the cause of the last-minute switch wasn't divulged, the removal of Zander is noteworthy given the lackluster response Motorola's latest handset offerings and general talk of discontent within Motorola surrounding the company's performance in general.  Could it be that Motorola pulled Zander's appearance to keep him out of the public eye as they consider his future - or lack thereof - at the company's helm?

While Motorola has achieved some success with their recent Q smartphone, their consumer handset division has been searching in vain for a home run ever since the release of the RAZR V3 a few years ago.  The more recent KRZR and RIZR phones have been criticized as "RAZRs in new packages," offering stylish housings but little in the way of innovation to compete in the ever-changing technological landscape that is the wireless handset marketplace.  Recent reports have suggested that pressure has been squarely on Zander's shoulder's for some time now to come up with another big hit in the tradition of the RAZR and the Star Tac before it.

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