Motorola Inc. (MOT) Co-CEO Sanjay Jha said Monday his company is in talks with large U.S. operators other than initial partner T-Mobile USA to sell its Cliq smartphone, but wouldn't elaborate on key elements about the new product, including pricing.

Jha said Motorola is "in talks with all large operators in U.S." and is "fairly hopeful we will begin to engage with all the U.S. operators."

He added he expects competition for Motorola's Cliq, as well as other phones based on Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system that Motorola will introduce over the next year, to intensify in 2010 as more smartphones hit the market.

Jha's comments, made at financial analyst conference, come only a few days after Motorola unveiled the Cliq, its first mobile phone powered by Android. Motorola said the Cliq will be available in the U.S., U.K., Spain, France and Latin America in the fourth quarter.

Deutsche Telekom AG's (DT) T-Mobile USA will carry the Cliq in the U.S.

On Monday, Jha wouldn't go beyond what Motorola has previously said about the Cliq, which builds on the Android operating system by offering social networking functions. Though the phone has been formally announced and demonstrated, Motorola hasn't said when it will be available to consumers or how much it will cost.

Jha also said little about Motorola's next Android-powered phone, which some analysts expect will be introduced in the next few weeks.

The Cliq features touches Motorola has added to Google's software. Those are seen as essential to setting Motorola products apart from the increasingly crowded smartphone pack, as well as reinvigorating its lineup.

A key feature of Cliq is social networking software dubbed "Motoblur," which syncs a users' phone contacts, emails, posts, feeds and photos from a wide range of messaging and social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Gmail.

Motorola needs a successor to its Razr, which debuted eight years ago and forced rivals to churn out copycat phones. The company's failure to follow up has led Motorola to give up market share.

In the second quarter, Motorola's share of the global handset market fell to 5.4% from 9.5% a year ago, according to Strategy Analytics. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (SSNHY) and LG Electronics Inc. (066570.SE) have overtaken Motorola.

On Monday, Motorola shares rose 1.2%, to $8.79.

-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230; ben.charny@dowjones.com