Motorola sees rugged competition in North America

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Motorola Inc (MOT.N) expects to see "particularly rugged" competition in North America in the handset business in 2008 and into 2009, Chief Executive Greg Brown said on Monday.

Asked about ambitions by rivals such as global mobile phone leader Nokia Oyj (NOK1V.HE) to make inroads into the North American market where Motorola is the leader, Brown said he was taking nothing for granted.

"I expect it to be particularly rugged for the remainder of 2008 and into 2009," he said during a Webcast of an analyst conference.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew, editing by Phil Berlowitz)